Reach For The Stars
by Ben10Extreme
Summary: Bowser is King of the Koopas. Rosalina is Protector of the Cosmos. At first it was just mutual curiosity. Though as their time together gradually grows, so does their unlikely bond. They confide in one another about emotional troubles, and protect each other from outside threats. At one point, their loved ones are shocked when Bowser's heart stops aching for Peach...
1. Bowser's Curiosity

**Wow. I just can't help myself. This wouldn't leave my mind, so I just have to get it out. It's a story about a pairing that many people might not expect. Which may or may not be a good change in pace, since it's not a pairing that's recognized very often. Most may consider it a 'crack pairing' if you will. But since it's barely recognized around here, I might as well give it a shot and see what happens. That...and I enjoy the concept. To some, it makes more sense than we know.**

 **Bowser and Rosalina. And this is the first time that I'm creating a story which the main focus is Romance. There's gonna be Action, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, Drama, and plenty of Humor to go around as well, but Romance will stick out the most. Perhaps I'll put the usual MarioxPeach and LuigixDaisy on the side, but BowserxRosalina is the main focus.**

 **It takes place an uncertain amount of time after Super Mario 3D World. Because that's the first time Bowser and Rosalina-since that's the first time she was directly playable-made direct contact after the reborn universe manifested at the end of Super Mario Galaxy, and they didn't make direct contact in the second Galaxy Game. Those key details are important for how this story begins. But if I got the timeline wrong, PLEASE tell me so I can make corrections. I'll greatly appreciate it.**

 **Let's begin this new, uncertain tale...**

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His name...is King Bowser. King of the Koopa Klan, ruler of the Darklands, and a constant thorn in the Mushroom Kingdom's side with his unyielding determination to rule it with an iron fist and take it's current ruler, Princess Peach, as his bride. Just like his children, he genuinely loved her. He wanted to take care of her. He truly wanted tp be with her. Unfortunately, they are in a bit of an impasse when it comes to the 'ruling with an iron fist' bit. That part tends to not go so well. That, and she just flat-out doesn't like him that way. She'd rather be friends with him, but he's made that incredibly difficult over the years, as he won't take no for an answer, which leads to her constantly getting kidnapped...

...Which leads to the Mario Brothers, his most hated enemies, to constantly get in his way and foil his plans. His wrath was always pointed towards Mario since Peach was much closer to him than she was to Luigi, but the latter was really beginning to get on his nerves lately. Like, seriously! There are times that the red plumber is all alone, he can't seem to defeat him for good. The Green Stache comes along, and Bowser believes he has a chance since anxiety always hits him hard. But _nope_. The green one just so happens to be just as strong as his brother...if not _stronger_. In all honesty, he has the potential to become an even better hero than Mario, but his cowardice is the only thing holding him back from surpassing Mario completely. Bowser definitely didn't need that problem rising any time soon. No thanks! Mario as he is now is bad enough!

They have defeated him over and over again, with no signs of success on Bowser's part in the slightest. No matter how hard he tries-and at this point, everyone in the Mushroom kingdom has begun giving heavy respect to him for his impossibly unbreakable tenacity-he always loses. And any victory he gains is either short-lived, or he had to team up with the Mario Bros in order to stop a common enemy. Whether he was aware of the team-up or not, those things happen. But this don't change the fact that he is incapable of defeating the Mario Brothers, even on his own terms. But that wasn''t going to stop him. One day he was going to defeat the both of them. No tricks. No lies. No cheating. No help from the sidelines.

Yes. As much as he seriously hates the both of them, he has begun to think of them as threats to be taken very seriously. He begrudgingly admits that in combat, they are worthy of being his equals. That is why he wishes to defeat them in a fair fight, to prove who is superior in combat once and for all. They deserve that much. It's the least that the Koopa King can do for two measly plumbers that consistently prove to him that they are no mere plumbers.

And Yoshi. Can't forget that irritable green dinosaur that can stretch his tongue to impossible lengths, and has a respectable bottomless stomach like himself. While he's nowhere near as big of a pain as the Mario Brothers, Bowser does acknowledge that the green dino is a force to be reckoned with when he really pushes himself. Even to this day, the both of them are striving to prove which one of them is the better eater. Bowser's quick working and super strong metabolism really helps in those areas of competition, which is why he's eaten multiple super large portions of food in a matter of seconds...repeatedly. Sure he got a bit...chubby for a while in one incident, but he worked it off very quickly. Anyone who brings up that incident gets kicked out the castle window. As in literally kicked out. HARD.

Needless to say, Kamek didn't enjoy being a flaming football.

His enemies were impressive, there was no doubt about that. Regardless, he was a very stubborn Koopa King. That much was painfully obvious. But as the years go by, and so far he hasn't had any success at winning her heart, he was beginning to wear down and lose hope. Peach returning his affections was slowly proving to be an impossibility. He was going a bit far, as he proved multiple times that nothing was impossible. But still his drive to pursue this goal was beginning to wane. And the more that realization begins to manifest, the deeper his animosity grows for the Mario Brothers and their friends. This only fuels his burning desire to defeat them all and take over the world. And that very determination has helped him nearly succeed many times, and has helped him cheat death multiple times, Life Mushroom or not. No matter what, the Koopa King refuses to falter for too long. Not to mention, he is incredibly powerful. Very powerful. He's punched things akin to demons and tangled with living gods for Pete's Sake!

But then again, so does Mario. Mushroom kingdom admittedly would have fallen a long time ago if Mario wasn't always standing in his way.

And then there are times...that he and everyone else would get along just fine. The times he would push his world-conquering plans to the side are the times he has the most fun. Go-karting, Tennis, Soccer, they invited him to all of the events. Or he invites himself and they just roll with it. Either way, they get along relatively well during those events. But outside that, it's business as usual. That doesn't include the times the had to save the world together from a third party.

One wondered that if he stopped trying to conquer everyone, he could become a great ally to the Mushroom Kingdom. But no one could imagine it, as they've been feuding for years.

Bowser sighed as he folded one leg over the other and closed his eyes, breathing a cloud of smoke from his nostrils. _Hmph. Long-Time allies, huh? Unlikely._ He did let the thought cross his mind a couple times, but towards conquering the world, not being actual friends, even though the potential is very much there. He can't ever consider himself a friend of Mario's, not so long as he has Peach. And at that thought, he honestly wondered if there was even a point to chasing Peach anymore. But he couldn't just quit after so long. The Darklands needed a Queen worthy of it's rule. A strong and powerful Queen. And for the longest time, he's always considered Princess Peach to be that someone. But it's slowly beginning to sink in that his pursuit of her was proving to be fruitless. He's had plenty of close calls, but never a success. Not to mention that his pursuits of her has resulted in multiple losses of resources. Easily replenishable, but it was still getting on his nerves how much time and resources he poured into a pointless cause.

And yet, he believes he will continue to push on. He's been going at it for this long, there's no reason for him to stop now. Though he's come to a very painful conclusion. There was a very high chance that Princess Peach was never going to reciprocate his feelings. So if that was going to be the case, then what was he going to do?

As he was in deep thought over this, his loyal advisor Kamek came flying in on his broom, his wand in hand. He noticed his King was looking downtrodden, and leaned in close, but still at a respectable distance. "Your Aggressiveness, does something trouble you?"

"Ugh..." Bowser groaned as he slumped in his throne, gazing at the ceiling. "Kamek...do you think that my chase for Princess Peach is proving to be pointless?"

Kamek gasped in shock, nearly falling off his broom in the process. He panted a little as he regained his balance, climbing back on the broom and adjusting his glasses. "Y-Your Vileness! Are you...actually beginning to doubt yourself?! Where is this coming from?!"

Bowser groaned a bit as he rubbed his head with one paw, slightly irritated with Kamek's shocked outburst. " I'm usually much more straightforward with this. Take Princess Peach, rule Mushroom Kingdom. Ya know, the usual plan." He muttered as he stands up from his throne and begins walking around with folded arms. "I dunno what happened. Usually when I come up with plans to do those things, I get this raging fire in my belly, and it gets me pumped. I feel like getting those things done." He then lowered his head and shook it slightly. "However...I've begun to lose that burning fire...it's beginning to dim, Kamek."

"Whatever do you mean...?" Kamek asked, showing genuine concern for his Master's current distress.

"No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, no matter how drastically I change things up, I always seem to come up short in the end. Peach has never liked me, not the way that I like her. And I think it's beginning to sink in that there might be nothing I can do to change that. She's just too attached to Mario at this point, and I just can't seem to get past that guy!" Bowser clenched his fist and punched the nearby wall, cracking it slightly with gritted teeth. "I'm getting really tired of my ambitions going nowhere! She's just out of my reach and she wants to stay that way!" He sighed again and ran his paws down his face. "She just wants to be friends with me, Kamek. As long as I behave myself, she never stops wanting to be friends with me. But the way I am now, there might be a chance I'll even lose _that_. If my ambitions drive her away from even being my friend...I...I don't know what to do..."

Kamek frowned even more, seeing that his King was truly distressed about this. Very rarely does Bowser ever show his emotional side around others that aren't his children. Kamek was at a bit of a loss on what to do, as his superior was genuinely losing his drive. There must be something he can do to help lift his spirit. He just needed for him to take his mind off Peach for the time being. But he had no idea how to do so, since his last scheme quite clearly had Peach herself standing against him alongside the Mario Bros and a random Toad. After a moment of careful thinking, Kamek simply shakes his head and proceeds to take a risk. While he definitely wants Bowser to feel better, sugarcoating his words will only make the King angrier.

"Do not fret too highly, your Vileness. Perhaps...maybe it is best if you don't focus on the Princess for the time being." Kamek attempted while flying around the grumbling Bowser. "After all, some of your schemes have been very close to actually succeeding! You were on the verge of ruling the Kingdom many times when your focus was not on Peach! It's just that your attachment to Peach is quite possibly the main cause of those plans being ruined. Capturing Peach catches the Mario Brothers attention, and catching their attention means that they'll surely come to stop you. That has not and never will change. And it becomes especially evident when in your latest scheme, she actually came out of her castle herself to help the Mario Brothers stop you. That's how big a deal you are!"

Bowser sighed as he folded her arms. "Yeah. It is true that the times I was closest to success are the times I don't go after her directly. That one was so close to home she actually felt the need to stop me herself, and is clearly capable of doing so. That was a definite step backward for me if she has to fight alongside them to stop me."

Bowser was more likely to settle things with his fists than his brains, but that doesn't mean he's lacking in intelligence. Far from it, he can even be considered a genius in some aspects if he's really focused on something. He could have conquered the world fairly easily if he wasn't insistent on capturing Peach first and incurring Mario's intervention, as Kamek pointed out to him. He just...couldn't help himself. This cycle has been going on for years with no end in sight. He was just incredibly frustrated with his lack of success, yet he knows he won't let himself give up so easily. His pride refuses to let him.

Kamek frowned again, flying a bit closer to him, but still at a respectable distance. "Indeed. That was a bit surprising. She hasn't taken action herself in a while. The previous significant event like this is when you actually captured Mario instead of Peach. Pretty effective, but it also ended in failure. And...she ended up pretty upset with you afterwards."

"Took her a while to forgive me after that one..." Bowser muttered, looking to the side. 'And this is the second significant time that she stood up to me alongside those stupid plumbers! Not to mention he had help from a darn _Blue Toad_ that is surprisingly competent and tough! And then there was that other Princess who-" Bowser paused a bit mid-sentence, mentally backtracking a bit as he rubbed his chin. "Wait a minute...that other Princess...how come I've never seen her before?"

"I'm not sure, Sire. But by how she nonchalantly looked at you and how she was more than content with helping Mario, it's evident that she knows _exactly_ who you are." Kamek said.

"Give me an image." Bowser ordered. Kamek nodded, waving his wand around and raising it in the air. A plethora of colorful shapes emitted from the wand, until they expanded to form an image. The image showed someone standing under the stars. A tall pale woman with blonde hair, a bang hanging in front of her eye. She wore a brooch and crown of silver color, while her earrings were golden. Bowser takes a moment to take in the image of the woman, his eyes narrowed, arms folded, and his foot impatiently tapping the ground with a frown, his mind racking to figure out who she is. _That woman was with Mario and the others when I imprisoned all of those Sprixies, she helped them free them all. She holds a feeling of great power...Who the heck is she? I swear I've seen her before that little adventure with the Sprixies, but my mind is drawing blanks..._

"Sire, I do believe her name is Rosalina." Kamek continued, adjusting his glasses slightly. "Very little is known about her, at least with the amount of information _we_ have about her. One of the things we're certain about is her connection to the cosmos, an observer and protector of sorts. With a position like that, she has the power to back it up. But like I said, she seems to be familiar with Mushroom Kingdom and it's residents. And she seems to know who you are as well."

"But I've never seen her before in my life!" Bowser insisted. He groaned as he held his head, which was beginning to ache. _At least...I don't think I did...did I...? And what's with this connection to the cosmos thing...Grr! I don't know!_

"Don't let it get to you too much, Sire. It might be a case of false deja vu. She feels familiar, but you probably haven't met her before at all."

Bowser growled a little bit and folded his arms. Not at Kamek, but at his inability to exactly remember who Rosalina is. He hung his head, glaring at the ground. "No way, Kamek. My gut is tellin' me that I've definitely met this woman before. I wouldn't just magically forget someone with a presence feeling this powerful unless I was forced to." _Could that be it? Could I have been forced to forget about her? That''s one of the only ways I can think of that would explain it, why she feels so familiar despite my mind unable to recall meeting her before. And why would someone so powerful ally herself with someone like Mario? Tch, no doubt he came to her assistance at some point, a point I don't remember...darn it, why can't I remember?! More importantly, why is this even bugging me so much?!_ It frustrated Bowser, not knowing. because at the pivotal times he didn't know something important, it ends up with him being either manipulated then stabbed in the back-a method he cleverly reversed once when he least expected it-or simply looking like a fool when he thought he was ahead of someone.

Well that wouldn't be the case this time. Bowser hates getting blindsided by missing important points that he should really know about. And someone who's powerful enough to govern the cosmos, is definitely someone that Bowser should consider learning more about. Especially if she connects herself to the likes of Mario.

With a grit of his teeth, he turns away and stomps out of the room. "Kamek! I want you to prepare my airship! Where does this space girl live?!"

"U-Uh...I think it's called the Comet Observatory!" Kamek stuttered slightly. "But wait, your Rashness...are you really considering going up there?! I wasn't kidding when I said she is incredibly powerful!"

"Like _that's_ gonna scare me." Bowser huffed, smoke puffing from his nostrils. "Someone that powerful is lowering herself to helping the likes of Mario. Since I can't seem to get her off my mind, I'm gonna go up there and figure out what makes her tick! _Nothing_ overtakes that priority right now!"

" _Papa!_ "

Bowser paused as he heard the call of his beloved son Junior down the hall. He sighed as he turned around and walked back. "Except for tucking Junior in...that definitely takes a higher priority..."

Kamek sighed, beginning to nurse his own headache. He should be used to his King making rash decisions and not fully thinking about the consequences of some of those decisions, but that didn't mean it wasn't tiring to participate in nonetheless. Despite this, Kamek will follow Bowser regardless of the consequences. If his Royal majesty wants to go to the Space Observatory, then they shall go. He just hopes that Bowser would know what he was doing this time.

Neither of them knew it at the time. But it was Bowser's insistent curiosity that would be the first step in permanently breaking the status quo...

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 **The Prologue is out of the way. Bowser's mind is piqued by the powerful authority figure that assisted Mario without him knowing when she appeared before that time-since Mario and Rosalina are the only ones to remember the events of Super Mario Galaxy. Since he's getting irritated by his lack of understanding he's going to seek her out and get answers.**

 **Unbeknownst to him, that's when everything begins to change for Bowser. Whether it's for better or worse, that's for the universe to decide. And the universe isn't ignorant of his evil deeds.**

 **I hope you're interested in this new tale like I am. If it gets enough support, then I'll be sure to update it a bit more. It's on you, dear readers.**

 **Hope to see you next time!**


	2. Rosalina's Curiosity

**Here's the next chapter of this story. Though you might consider it the second half of the prologue, if you want to. It feels that way to me, at least. Ya don't have to.**

 **Feedback has been pretty reasonable and some are nice. You're willing to give this story a chance. I can work with that.**

 **Anyway, here's the second chapter. Hope you enjoy!~**

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Her gracefulness has little to no bounds. Her kindness is known and acknowledged across the galaxy. Her power can be considered to be one of a goddess, and she is fully capable of backing up that claim if she truly wished to. Her home lies within the Comet Observatory. She is the Protector of the Cosmos, and is the Mother of the Lumas. Her name is Rosalina.

The Comet Observatory wasn't always this big. It used to be pretty small in overall size, actually. It was built by Rosalina herself since she agreed to take care of Luma. She had a lot of time on her hands and she was highly intelligent. So while the task was definitely time consuming, it wasn't that difficult. Though as one would have it, it's actually much bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. And it consists of multiple different sections known as 'domes'. There was a central area, there was a Terrance, a Garage, a Fountain, a Library, a Kitchen, a Bedroom, an Engine Room, a Gate, and a Garden. All of these areas would incidentally lead to different gateways to different galaxies that can be explored, as Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi demonstrated. And Luma wouldl soon turn into the Beacon that powers the entire Observatory.

Every one hundred years, the Comet Observatory would pass by the Mushroom World, and it's denizens would celebrate what is known as the Star Festival. Because from their point of view the COmet Observatory was simply just a Comet. Rosalina didn't mind this at all. It was actually rather nice of them in a way, even if they never knew what they were truly looking at. However, from the most recent Star Festival, there came an event which Rosalina never saw coming. Somebody actually stormed the Comet Observatory and caused it to lose it's main power source: Grand Stars and Power Stars. They were scattered across the cosmos as a result of the attack, and the Observatory would remain immoblized over Mushroom Kingdom until Mario would later recover five of them to get it moving again, so the rescue of the one known as Princess Peach could commence in earnest.

A grand battle would progress afterwards, one that resulted in a sun collapsing into a massive black hole. Nothing but herself and Mario managed to survive. And with the sacrifice of the Lumas, the entire cosmos was reborn. According to her, this cycle has repeated countless times, and it _never_ repeats the same way twice. There's always some kind of unique difference between every repeat. The cycle is constant, but imperfect. The entire universe was reborn, and so was everyone else. Including the one that was ultimately responsible for such a huge mess in the first place. The one who is widely acknowledged as Mushroom Kingdom's biggest enemy.

King Bowser.

Rosalina had to admit, if there was one word she could use to describe the Koopa King that she could be certain of, it was his audacity. It was likely he knew exactly what the Comet Observatory was and chose to attack it anyway. Or perhaps he simply didn't know and didn't care, for he was too busy with his conquest of the universe and the kidnapping of Princess Peach. Though she could give him credit for one thing, his ambition is something to behold. He was willing to take suh bold risks in order to become a powerful conqueror. There have been plenty like him in some ways, and yet none of them could measure up to how fiercely determined he was to succeed. Of course, his drive has ultimately resulted in the previous universe ending, and a new, similar one to take his place. He has no recollection of his past deeds in that specific venture. After everything was well and done, she took the Space Observatory and left the Mushroom World behind.

...Obviously she didn't leave for good.

Rosalina didn't expect it, but she came back to help Mario and the others when Bowser was once again close to taking over the Mushroom World as he had managed to suppress the Sprixies, beings capable of some advanced building. They were forced to build his army, which was admittedly much stronger than they ever were. It seems that Bowser is capapble of a high degree of intelligence and cunning when he really pushes himself. And after so long he's finally managed to get into the mindset of using Mario and Luigi's power-ups against him. One was the DOOube Cherries, which doubles the user with a clone each time they grab one. And the other was the brand new Super Bell and Lucky Bell power-ups, which gives them the powers of a cat, complete with a cat-suit. Bowser was transformed into Meowser, and was shaped into one of the most fierce felines of all. A tiger. And Rosalina's own cat suit came with black fur.

She didn't know why, but it felt...oddly relaxing.

What was important about this venture was that after the universe's imperfect reformation, this was the very first time they've come face to face with one another. She could remember his brief look of confusion as his eyes gazed in her direction. Though he quickly discarded it and simply considered her another enemy to remove from his way. Though he was surprised by how powerful she really was putting up a much better fight than he expected. Though to his credit, she did have to struggle against him, he was much stronger than she expected. Though in the end, they managed to defeat him, and save the Sprixies form his enslavement. Strangely, this one of the few times that Bowser did not directly go after Peach. It was also one of the few times when he was dangerusly close to succeeding in taking over Mushroom World. It would seem that his chances of success would drastically increase the less he goes after Peach. Though given how many times he captured her in the past, he was unable to help himself. He's been doing this for years, and it didn't seem like he was willing to stop anytime soon.

The Koopa King, despite how simple he seems to act, is quite a complex person. She doesn't seem to understand him as much as she might like to. Maybe if she knew the reason as to why he insists on kidnapping the Princess, she might be able to undertand. Because he clearly doesn't need Peach if ruling the Mushroom World was all he wanted. She wondered if what he also wanted was Peach's love, in which he was never going to gain it the way he acts towards her. Luckily for him the Princess is a very forgiving authority figure. Though she also isn't afraid to stand against him if she needed to.

Another thing she could be sure about Bowser just by looking at him, is that he was prideful. He puts his face on _everything_. Banners, flags, carpets, doors, _movie theaters_...honestly, she was surprised that he had the space and tolerance to install a movie theater in his castle. Then again, he also tends to be quite the showoff. Oh, that's another thing she could be sure about just by l0ooking at him! Go figure!

Still, the Koopa King was an enigma despite his actions being relatively easy to understand. Kidnap the Princess, rule the world. Though his mindset seems to work on the wavelength that he couldn't have one without the other. He could rule the world fairly easily if he wanted. His near complete conquest of the universe prior to it's rebirth attested to that. The only reason he failed was that he brought Mario's attention by coming back for Peach. Why does he keep trying? Does he not know that he could not force her to love him back? True love takes time and patience. Rosalina should know, it took her many years for her to fully proclaim herself as protector and mother of all Lumas. Because she really did love all of them. And for as long as Peach and Bowser have known one another, she could tell that Peach truly does care about Bowser, but not in the way he cares about her. If he is aware of this, and knows that it may be impossible to change, then why does he try so hard to force love onto her?

This is when Bowser becomes an enigma. And her inability to properly understand him was not helping matters much. Maybe if she could take the time to properly understand him...

"Rosalina? Does something trouble you?"

The Space Princess blinked softly as she slowly turned towards the sound of the voice. A blackish brown Luma with sky blue eyes was levitating in front of her. His name as Polari, one of the eldest Lumas in existence, and Rosalina's most trusted advisor. If there was anything she had deep thoughts about that needed an outside opinion, or if she needed to make an important decision she was unsure of, she would consult to him. He also served as a vital guide for Mario during his venture across the cosmos. Though he was to Rosalina as Toadsworth was to Peach. And that is being highly protective of them, on top of being advisors. This was actually a pretty good time for him to appear, she needed someone to bounce her thoughts off of for a while. Just because she was one of the most knowledgable beings in the Universe doesn't mean she didn't need someone to help her. And she could really use it right now.

"Oh, hello Polari." Rosalina nodded. "Something doesn't trouble me. It's more like genuine curiosity on my part. Curiosity about a certain someone." She said as she slowly stands up and walks out of the Bedroom, which was much larger than a usual bedroom would be, and is also a dome to access galaxies.

Polari looked a bit confused as he flew around her once, before eventually settling for the left side of her as she made her way out of her bedroom. "Curious? Curious about who?"

Rosalina also had taken care to remember that Polari doesn't remember the events before the universe's reformation. Though he was fully able to witness most of the events that happened afterwards, so he wasn't completely clueless. Still, she would have to inform him in order for him to give her input. "Do you remmeber the time that I brought the Space Observatory back to Mushroom World and lent the Mario Bros and Princess Peach my assistance against King Bowser?"

Polari was briefly confused, and he nodded affirmatively. "Yes, I do remember that. It was quite strange of you to do such a thing, Rosalina. Usually you only revisit the Mushroom World every one hundred years. This is actually the first time you've broken your own tradition. I was genuinely surprised about that!"

"Indeed. I suppose you could say I've grown attached to the Mushroom World. To the extent that I would come to it's aid whenever it needs me." Rosalina admitted. "The denizens of Mushroom Kingdom have always celebrated the arrival of the Comet Observatory believing it was an actual comet. It flattered me quite a bit. Mario and his friends havr assisted me in some endeavors before. So it was the least I could do to return the favor. It was also nice to help the Sprixies. They're quite the effective builders, I will admit. I was even able to learn a few things from them just by watching them."

"Just goes to show that you can always keep improving!" Polari chuckled at that. Though he returned to being slightly curious and concerned as he gazed at Rosalina from where he was. "There is a reason you're bringing up that adventure, isn't there? And it has something to do with this person you're curious about? Who is it, my dear? You can tell me." He said honestly, which brought Rosalina some degree of ease. He was about to be surprised by her answer, and it would be completely understandable.

Rosalina sighed slightly as she clasped her hands before turning to look towards Polari with an honest look. "The one that has recently gained my attention...is King Bowser."

"WHHHAAAAAT?!" Yep. Polari definitely look flabbergasted as he flipped backwards multiple times from the shocking statement, before he readjusted himself and approached her again. "Forgive me for my outburst, Princess. But what could have gotten you curious about King Bowser? You said it yourself, you were helping the hroes of Mushroom Kingdom combat him!" It wasn't that he wasn't trying to understand what brought this up, he was just mostly shocked that she brought it up at all. How is it that the Koopa King managed to capture her attention to the point of openly pondering about him? And judging by how calm she was being-it was the degree of calmness, since it's really difficult to break her composure-it was obvious that she has been thinking about this for a while now.

Rosalina, understanding Polari's surprise, nodded softly as she gently closed her eyes. "In all honesty, I do not know. Perhaps it was the latest encounter, when I was actually staring him down, that I've begun to think about him a bit more than I usually would or should. He's obviously very much full of pride, that wasn't hard to figure out. Then there was his ambition, which I find respectable even if it's for malicious purposes. And he can be rather...eccentric sometimes. As well as really angry." Rosalina pointed out these things while her head tilted to the side. "These things are rather simple to point out. But as I think deeper about him and his relationship with Mushroom Kingdom's denizens...I find myself at a bit of a loss."

"A loss? How so?"

"I've spoken with Peach about him before. Bowser can be a malicious person without a doubt. But what puzzles me is that despite that, he does have goodness within him, even if it's deeply hidden."

"Goodness? Within _King Bowser?_ How can that be?" Polari wasn't trying to be hurtful, it was just a lack of understanding. A lack of understanding that Rosalina shared.

"It was difficult for me to believe as well. But Peach has known Bowser since they were children. She's the only one who could know Bowser as much as Mario since those two are always fighting over her. Despite how malicious he can be with his actions and his tyrannical implulses, he does have some semblance of good within him. He is reasonable with his subjects. When there is someone who wants to destroy the world he wishes to conquer, he'll immediately side with Mushroom Kingdom to stand against them. And he genuinely loves Peach."

Polari tilted himself a bit, before readjusting himself and shaking side to side. "He surely has a rather strange and unwarranted way of expressing it. I do not believe that Peach would ever be interested in returning his affections if he insists on kidnapping her and trying to rule her kingdom by force. She's highly unlikely to return his affections if he continues to act like that. I honestly find it quite surprising that throughout their history, she continues to forgive him for his transgressions. They get along relatively well during those sporting events and parties they're always participating in together. Though I hear that he crashes at least half of those events, so he's not always invited."

Rosalina raised her head a bit. "...There was one other thing. He has a son. They share the same name but everyone refers to him simply as Junior. And something else that Peach was sure of, is that Junior is one of the very few people in the world who can bring out the genuine good in him. The very first time Bowser deceived him into going along with his plans, he felt true remorse for fooling his son with something so sensitive. And remorse does _not_ come easily to him."

Polari nodded slightly as he turned to the side. "I see...that is how Peach is certain that Bowser isn't as bad as he believes himself to be. Perhaps he is not the most pleasant person to be around, and he has a very tyrannical mindset. But despite this, he has seemingly good qualities that prevent him from being completely hated by everyone."

"Yes...this is where he becomes an enigma to me..." Rosalina said quietly as she lowered her head and rubbed her chin.

 _From what Peach has told me, Bowser is definitely one of the less pleasant inhabitants of the Mushroom World. But sometimes his thoughts and actions align to something completely different. He truly cares about his family, and is deeply remorseful when they get hurt because of his schemes, physically or emotionally. He is actually a very caring ruler over his minions, though he's rather quick to punish them for failure. And he'll save the world without question, even if his only motivation is to rule it for himself. And he truly loves Peach, though his constant desire to force her to return it has him constantly clashing with Mario. And no matter what he does or how many times he does it, he's always forgiven. Then he tries again another time._

Rosalina closed eyes and sighed deeply to herself. No matter how deeply she thinks, she simply cannot understand Bowser as much as she might want to. Her very first experience with him, an experience only she and Mario can remember, was not the best first impression. But after hearing more about him from Peach, she simply couldn't help but continue to wonder about him. It looks like the Mushroom World has added yet another thing for her to be curious about. She wanted to know more about him, as much as she could. But not from Peach or anyone else in Mushroom Kingdom. It may be a bit dangerous, but...

She wanted to ask a few things from Bowser himself.

 **"HEEEEYYYYY! ANYBODY HOME?!"**

"W-WHAT WAS THAT?!" Polari panicked, flying around the room in multiple directions near-uncontrollably. Rosalina wasn't frightened by the voice. She was more curious than anything, because she already knew exactly who it was. So with a briefly nod of her head, she stepped outside to the view o space, making her way towards the Gate where the booming voice originated. Polari hurried after her, not wanting her to be alone. They both noticed numerous Lumas hiding behind various objects, shivering in fear. They were only reassured by Rossalina passing by them. She soon stops and got a proper look at a parked airship, a strange cloaked Magikoopa known as Kamek...

...and Bowser.

He manages to get a good look at her, and his mind pulsed a little bit from the result. _Urrgh...my head...yeah. Now that I'm gettin' a good look at her, she definitely feels familiar. Now it's time that I get some answers from her._

 _Bowser came to me himself. That is unexpected, but I suppose I can adapt. Because now I have a chance to speak with him about a few things. And that look in his eyes...it appears he has his own reasons for being here._ Rosalina thought quietly.

"Hey. Are you the Space Princess named Rosalina? The so-called 'Protector of the Cosmos' or whatever?" Bowser demanded more than asked, placing air quotes around one of her titles just a bit sarcastically.

"Yes. My name is Rosalina." She felt a specific aura emitting off of him that told her he was genuinely troubled. She would probably find out what in a few moments. "And you are King Bowser. This visit is a bit unorthodox, don't you think?"

"There wasn't anythin' here that prevented me from comin' in. So I came in. Didn't bother knockin'." Bowser huffed, folding his arms. "Anyway, I came here because you've got some explaining to do."

"Oh? I do?" Rosalina was slightly amused by his arrogance, managing a small smile. "That is amusing. Because you see...I was wishing to speak to you as well."

Bowser smirked at this, chuckling slightly. "Is that right?"

"Indeed. It would seem that we have similar intentions."

The two of them stared at each other in silence, which made Kamek and Polari equally nervous. As this staredown ensued, a shooting star managed to pass them by. It's light illuminated both of their faces for a brief moment, each showing a desire to know more about the other.

This mutual curiosity was going to lead them down a path neither of them ever expected to take...

* * *

 **These two really wanna know how the other ticks. The story truly begins in the next chapter.**

 **Please review. They really help!**


	3. The First Meeting

**This one is a pretty decent one, I want to believe so. The one in which the confrontation begins as Bowser expected, but doesn't end in the way he'd like.**

 **Let's see why.**

* * *

In all honesty, no one knew how today was going to progress from this moment forward. Though within the minds of Bowser and Rosalina, this was the day they didn't expect but didn't deny that they might want. They've been on each other's mind for a pretty long time, and now that they were actually seeing each other face-to-face, without engaging in any fighting. And everyone would agree that it would be Bowser who's more likely to start a fight. Though fortunately for everyone involved, he didn't look like he was here for a fight.. Instead, like he said, he was here to talk. And Rosalina was here to do the same. Since their interests align, the chances of a conflict arising were significantly lowered.

Still Polari and Kamek weren't very assured. In fact, they were the most unsure of the bunch.

 _This is a bad idea...a VERY bad idea..._ Both of them mentally worried, with the latter having sweat sliding down his head as he held on tightly to his wand. He could clearly sense the immense power that Rosalina was generating so casually, so calmly, and so gracefully. It left him shivering in fear, no matter how kind she was said to me. he really hoped that Bowser wouldn't do anything rash to incur her wrath, such as harming the Lumas. He didn't want to be caught in the middle of a possibly destructive battle. He praised Bowser for his fearlessness. Then again, Bowser has stared down such figures before without flinching. Here, he was doing it again. _Oh how I wished I could possess half of your courage, your Fearlessness..._

Polari was on the other side, alongside Rosalina. He was currently shivering just as much as Kamek was. The sight of Bowser's intimidating and monstrous stature and aura was enough to fill him with terror. Polari was highly impressed with Rosalina's calmness. He knew very well how strong she was. but he was still quite nervous. Having just talked about how dangerous Bowser was and how powerful he was, and how he's been such a persistent menace to the Mushroom Kingdom time and time again. Having him literally show u at his doorstep was not something he was comfortable with, not one bit. Though he was willing to trust that Rosalina knew what she was doing, that didn't stop him from being afraid. _Lady Rosalina, please...be careful. I don't like where this is going at all..._

Bowser's suspicious gaze locked onto Rosalina, while the latter's gaze towards him was calm and collected. After a few more moments of silence, said silence got to Bowser, and he unfolded his arms while stomping the ground. "Well? Are we gonna do this or what?! You'd better not be stalling! I already told you I wasn't leaving without the answers that I wanted!"

"Of course, Bowser. I wouldn't think of wasting your time. Especially since I wished to speak with you as well." Rosalina replied easily, which made Bowser huff slightly. "Would you mind me inviting you inside? And do calm yourself quite a bit. The Lumas around seem quite anxious about you showing up here out of the blue. They haven't been properly prepared for something like that, you see."

Bowser raised an eyebrow. "Now why would they be anxious around me?"

"They've heard of you."

"...Oh. Ohoho! You've got a cheeky side to ya, huh?!"

"I don't know what you mean. Please, come inside." Rosalina smiled softly as she turned around and made her way back into the observatory. Bowser grumbled as he stomped his way inside, many Lumas scurrying further into their hiding spot. Polari and Kamek briefly looked at one another with equal amounts of nervousness, before sighing to themselves and following their charges into the observatory. The Lumas that were observing from afar partially peeked from their hiding places, their concern fro their mother growing exponentially the more time she spent with the big scary lizard. Though their mother seemed to know what she was doing, so they kept themselves from actually getting involved.

Bowser managed to get a good look around as they made their way into the place they were most likely to have their discussion, which honestly did surprise him. Not the location in which they were speaking, but the locations themselves. Rosalina has shown him a few places such as the Kitchen-he wondered if she knew how to could, it smells absolutely _amazing_ in there-a Garden, and a Library. It was highly surprising for him. This was just a few of them on the entire Observatory, and yet the various insides of it were much larger than they appear on the outside. Though he was also quite confused by how some of these rooms were very far away from each other, even though they were still easily accessible via stars. It just didn't seem right to the large Koopa. Who would have a setup like this and be perfectly okay with it? He'd much rather have all of his rooms as close to one another as possible, without the semi-ridiculous distances and heights from one another.

...Then again, he has a large movie theater, as well as a just as large arcade and gift shop. All three were pretty close to one another, and yet they were sometimes extremely dangerous for visitors to get to. With all the Chain Chomps...Bullet Bills...and the lava...Bowser took it back. He really wasn't one to talk when it came to home improvement. Though there was absolutely no way he was going to say that aloud to Rosalina, nor was he going to admit it to his men. As far as they knew, his remodeling and architecture skills were fantastic. And he really wasn't bad at those things, either. It's just that...breaking things was so much easier. And much more fun.

Bowser's impulsive, but not idiotic.

He was beginning to get a bit impatient though, and so he was glad that she eventually choice a location, which was definitely the Library. The place felt somber and melancholy...yet it also felt quite comfy. Bowser admitted that the place seemed like a suitable place to have a conversation, as it was definitely where she told he stories. Still...he would have liked to speak together in the Kitchen. He could really go for some grub...he shook his head. _No time for food, no matter how much I want it...gotta focus. First things first. Need to get to the serious subjects, and she tries to stall this any more._ Though he felt that she wasn't at all trying to stall him. She was simply being patient and waiting for him to initiate the conversation, since he was the one that came here to _her_ home, uninvited.

That was...actually pretty fair. No way was he going to admit it, though.

"Alright, Space Princess. Spill it." Bowser commanded, folding his arms with a stern glare. Once again, Rosalina was slightly amused by his arrogance once again, inwardly smiling. Nevertheless, she figured that it was indeed time to provide him the information she could. Bowser watched as she slowly sets herself in one of the chairs. After a few moments of silence, he was about to push her to speak again, though there was no need to. She eventually began speaking as she looked straight into his eyes.

"You wish to know as much as you can about me. That is why you came here for this...ahem, 'visit', is it not?" Rosalina began quietly. Bowser nodded roughly. Kamek and Polari were still looking quite nervous, and they've respectively kept their distance while making sure they were alright. She nodded back to him. "If you truly wish to know about your connection to me, them let me explain from our first _**true**_ meeting...from the previous cycle."

Bowser blinked owlishly. "Previous cy...what are you babblin' about?"

"I assume that you are not someone who enjoys extended stories, so I'll do what I can to summarize it to an amount bearable for you." Rosalina nodded as she gently gazed out towards the window, into the cosmos. "You see, Bowser...my connection with Mario goes much deeper than what you believe it is. I did not just create my connections with him and hi friends from out of thin air. We've met each other before, and we've worked together before. We've worked together in order to save the cosmos from it's biggest and most prominent threat at the time...you."

Bowser looked taken aback by this, as he unfolded his arms in surprise. He became a threat to the cosmos? when did this happen? he did agree that being a conqueror was a pretty promising aspect, but he didn't remember going for the entire universe itself. "The biggest threat to the universe...was me...?"

"That is correct. You've landed a surprise attack on the Comet Observatory before, scattering it's Power Stars and Grand Stars, and making sure that I couldn't fully assist Mario and his friends at first. I could only give him guidance, while also making sure that I was looking after the Lumas still aboard. After he collected all of them, I was able to fly the Comet Observatory to the center of the universe, where you and Mario had your final battle. You were defeated...but the after-effects were more costly than he anticipated. The sun you've created with your machine turned into a black hole. Everything aside from Mario and myself were completely pulled into it. The Lumas sacrificed themselves to stop it, and they've succeeded in lessening the damage and making it safe for the Galaxy to be reborn.

Bowser blinked a bit as he processed what she just said. He then narrowed his eyes and stomped up to her, his eyes glowing red and smoke coming from his nostrils and mouth. "What did you just say? Are you saying that after Mario defeated me, my galaxy's sun turned into a black hole and destroyed _**everything**? _Everything aside from you and Mario was just **_GONE?_** You've better be pulling on my tail, or so help me-"

"I have no reason to deceive you, Bowser. I was there alongside Mario. I comforted him as the universe was eventually reborn, as it always does." Rosalina replied calmly, unflinching at Bowser's enraged gaze. "I suppose you are taking offense at how I described the events. I am simply telling you of my experience with you, as you requested. We _have_ met before...but it was from the universe before this one. You could say that this universe has replaced the one that came before it. Everyone and everything was destroyed...and then it was all reborn again. Aside from Mario and myself."

Bowser didn't see any deceit in her eyes. As she said, she had no reason to lie to Bowser, it wouldn't personally benefit her in any way to lie to him. Bowser growled as he stepped away from her, his paws running down his face. Polari and Kamek nearly fainted from how tense those few seconds became. And after Bowser backed off, Polari managed to recover, while Kamek sighed with relief, but was now more worried about Rosalina than ever. Rosalina could clearly sense the distress emitting off of Bowser at this point, and it was somewhat understandable. Bowser's actions have instigated something rather cataclysmic, and it was greatly bothering him. He wanted to _rule_ the galaxy, not destroy it. And that's basically what happened. It must have been quite difficult to take in all at once. This was definitely not something he expected to hear from her.

Then again, that's what he wanted. Complaining about it wouldn't help matters.

He sighed as he took his paws away from his face. "So...my scheme pretty much caused the destruction of the universe...and you and Mario were the only survivors of it failing in the worst possible way?" Rosalina nodded. He shook his head and placed his face back into his paws. "Well...I can at least take pride that it takes the end of the universe to keep me down for good...and yet Mario managed to survive even _that_. That's just unfair, and _stupid_. Really, really, REALLY stupid!" Bowser stomped childishly. Though he soon regained his composure as he gazed at Rosalina with a solemn expression. "So...this universe we're in now...it's just a reset of the previous one?"

"A reset isn't a proper word for it...but you're thinking is at least close." Rosalina nodded. "That was not the end, simply the beginning. The universe has been reborn, but not everything remains the same. The differences are subtle, but they are most certainly there. It might be why you only have fragments of memory regarding me. You may remember me after all, but it is not perfect. It might also be why the others do not have much memory of the previous universe, even in fragments. Mario and I are the only ones that remember _everything_ from the previous universe. I must say, I find it rather surprising you remember even fragments of the previous one...especially memories of me. We didn't interact much aside from attacking the Observatory."

Bowser took all of this in, shaking his head a bit. In the back of his mind, he hoped that the Space Princess was just toying with him...but she was right. She has no reason to lie to him, she didn't sound like the type of person who would do that kind of thing. She was being completely truthful to him. "...So...the previous universe was destroyed...and this is the new one. Where most things are relatively the same, yet there are some subtle differences on the side to set them apart..."

"This is the cycle of life. The universe begins anew every time it seemingly ends. It will always repeat, but never perfectly. Your plans simply initiated the new cycle prematurely. But nothing else seems to have gone wrong, even with that realization."

Kamek and Polari were both listening closely, both of them being shocked to hear all of this information. it was shared shock, but for different reasons. Kamek was shocked to hear that one of Bowser's plans was actually grand and dangerous enough to endanger the whole universe, and even succeeded in destroying it...something that Bowser NEVER wants. If everything is destroyed, then he has absolutely nothing to rule. That is certainly not how Bowser operates, and it must be tearing him apart inside learning all of this. Then again, he was the one who asked for Rosalina's importance. While Polari was surprised that he had sacrificed himself alongside most of the Lumas to stop a black hole and he doesn't remember one bit of it. Rosalina must not have thought of it as something important since everything eventually worked out, and didn't want the Lumas to worry.

 _Princess...you kept that knowledge to yourself for our own sake...? Goodness, you're always taking on such burdens alone..._

Bowser seemed to be bitterly accepting that what Rosalina was saying was true. "...So...us meeting has been completely undone since that universe was completely wiped out. Our first official, true meeting was when you helped Mario and the others rescue the Sprixies. That was the first time you directly opposed me ever since that event."

"That is correct."

"And...neither of you bothered telling anyone about this? The universe ending seems like a pretty big deal."

"There was no need to. All of the damage was undone, and everyone was ultimately alright in the end. So neither me or Mario felt any need to inform anyone of what happened." Rosalina nodded. "If you still somewhat doubt my words, you can ask Mario. I know despite your hostility, he will not lie to you."

"N...no. I believe you. I believe you." Bowser sighed as he ran his paw through his red hair. "It's just a lot to take in. All this stuff seriously happened...though I really wish it weren't so..."

"Yes. I agree it must be quite a lot to take in." Rosalina admitted. "I'm just puzzled with how much you were willing to risk simply for Peach, even though pursuing her is more detrimental to you than beneficial."

Bowser slowly turned towards her with a raised eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean...?"

"I'm simply saying from the standpoint that I could observe from. It seemed that you were very close to actually succeeding in your conquest. You actually had most of it planned out to near-perfection, and you were so close to victory without Mario ever catching onto it." Rosalina explained. "The only reason he succeeded in stopping you is because you left some time to capture Peach, which brought his undivided attention on you, with enough time to thwart your plans. It's a rather strange pattern. The less you focus on Peach, the closer you actually get to achieving the conquest part of your ambitions. It seems that your persistent pursuit of her is your main weakness."

 **" _WHAT?!_ "**

 _I KNEW this was a bad idea!_ Kamek panicked inwardly. _His Majesty is going to go berserk at any moment! The last thing we need right now is a confrontation!_

Rosalina noted Bowser's growing irritation, but he did not say anything more at the moment. So she calmly continued. "I seem to have offended you again. I am truly sorry. It is just that...you seem so determined to win Peach's affection despite your actions having the opposite effect. Not enough to force her to cut her ties with you, but certainly enough to keep you at arm's length when you don't behave yourself. You pursue her even at the extreme detriment of your goals, or even your health. Worse yet, the wellbeing of those around you. I know that your heart isn't dark enough to not care about your subordinates and your children, yet you put them in peril in order to have something that you may never possess."

Bowser clenched his fists as more smoke began leaving his nostrils and mouth, which began glowing with the preparation of a fireball. How dare she?! She believed she could say these things about him so calmly and expect him to keep a level head?! He'll have her know that his men and children are very supportive of him and his ambitions, so it isn't like they didn't know what they were getting into. So there have been many times that his plans got a little bit too extreme, when have they ever _not_ been extreme? He was dead-serious about conquering the world and taking Peach. This woman can't simply deconstruct that because of something that technically never happened. Having his plans go as far as the whole universe, and only failed because he received Mario's attention by kidnapping Peach once again. His defeat ending in the universe being destroyed. Which resulted in all of his work being destroyed, and an immeasurable amount of people dying. Toads, Koopas, Peach...

Junior.

The instant his son's name came to mind, his fists unclenched, and the smoke stopped emitting from his nostrils. The glowing within his jaws vanished and his eyes widened in shock.

 _...I went too far._

Rosalina noticed Bowser's expression take a turn for the melancholy. She grew concerned, standing from her chair and gently placing a hand on his arm. "Bowser...do you perhaps...regret hearing what you heard?"

"...No. I don't. I don't like what I'm hearing, but I kinda got what I wanted." Bowser groaned, face palming and snarling at himself. "I...I just...grah! Kamek! We're done here! We're going home!" Bowser didn't want to be here any longer. He became highly uncomfortable with his discovery, but he didn't regret coming here. He almost preferred for the truth to be an elaborate joke...almost. At least he confirmed that he did indeed come in contact with Rosalina before.

"Oh thank goodness-I mean of course, your Impatientness!~" Kamek stuttered as he flew after the now gravely irritated Bowser. Polari sighed as well, returning to Rosalina's side. But before he could voice his thoughts, she spoke up again.

"Bowser...if you would like to speak to me again...I will be here." Rosalina offered, clasping her hands in front of her with a gentle nod. "Of course you've shown to be capable of making it here on your own...but at least let me know ahead of time? I do not receive many guests, so I would like to prepare ahead of time for when I actually do have other company."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Bowser nonchalantly waved as he left the Library and made his way towards his airship. He might have discovered more than he wished. But he can't and won't take back his decision. Though he had to admit, meeting the Space Princess has been...interesting. She wasn't afraid to tell him exactly how far his plans went and how damaging they truly were. And then she just wasn't afraid of him in general. Peach and Daisy tend to oppose him, if only though slight hesitance due to how powerful and intimidating he really was. But Rosalina? Not even a flinch. He was honestly very impressed by her. But right now, he didn't dwell on that.

The Koopa King needed some time to fully absorb this new information...but he was definitely going to hold Rosalina to her offer.

He wasn't done with her. Not yet.

* * *

 **Bowser and Rosalina's first official one on one meeting...Bowser leaves furious and frustrated. Rosalina stays, calm and composed, yet genuinely concerned. Not a great start, is it? Though he asked for information, and he got some of it. He leaves for now so he can process all of it, while Rosalina patiently awaits his inevitable return.**

 **Until their next official meeting...**


	4. Junior

**In this chapter, a certain someone is being introduced. Some of you may know her, as she is from the first two Paper Mario games before promptly disappearing and never appearing again. At first I thought she was simply limited to the Paper Mario Universe to be the replacement for Kamek...but then I see Paper Kamek in Paper Jam...**

 ***Sigh***

 **At least with this knowledge, since there's a Paper Kamek, surely there's a regular version of her around here somewhere. That's an acceptable scenario, right?**

 **...Let's just start the chapter.**

* * *

A young koopa prince slowly opened his eyes to the bright gleam of the morning light. He mumbled a bit as he turned over and pulled hs covers over his head. It was a pretty good thing that the covers were specifically made of a material that wouldn't tear every time it passes over his spikes. The Koopalings ran into the same issues, as well as his father. Eventually Kamek grew incredibly tired of the constant wears and tears, so the covers were enhanced so they could stand up to the spikes on their shells. There were more important things to spend their well-earned currency on.

The bottom line was that Prince Bowser Jr. was not going to be waking up so easily. He needed a bit of rousing in order to fully wake up.

"Your highness...wake up~"

"Ngggh..."

"Rise and Shine~"

"Grrr..."

"Wakey Wakey, Sweetheart~"

"Go away...the Prince commands it..." Junior growled, shifting his pillow over his head. It was then and there that the voice speaking to him lost their patience.

" _NOW_ , CHILD!"

 _ZAP!_

"WAAAAH!" Junior yelped in surprise as a shock to his tail was able to wake him up outright, causing him to jump out of his bed and lightly rub his rear with a slight whimper. "Owowowowowow...that really smarts...grrr! Who dares-!" Junior turned towards the offender, only for his eyes to widen and his face to pale considerably. "O-Oh...Miss Kammy. I-I didn't know that it was you..."

A short Magikoopa with a hunched back was seen dressed in dark purple robes and a dark purple hat. She has white hair showing down the sides of her face and wears oval glasses; it was safe to say she was much older than Kamek. Like him, she carries a wand and a broom around. Though regarding the previous statement, calling her 'old' outright was very unlikely to trigger a friendly response. She _does_ show signs of being senile, but that wasn't safe to say to her either.

She went into semi-retirement at some point of her life, leaving Kamek to be Bowser's fully appointed right-hand man. She still lends a hand from time to time whenever she feels like she's needed, but she's mostly just sticking around the castle, very free to listen to the problems of others. Aside from being very vain about herself, she can be very sweet when she wants to be.

But one thing has changed drastically. While she still fully supports Bowser and is very devoted to him, she no longer tolerates his disrespectful attitude towards her. And trying to pass that attitude to Junior was a very bad idea. Cue becoming a woman who is fully capable of making Bowser think twice about disregarding her too many times. She no longer allows disrespect to be her reward for devotion, and has no qualms with showing it. Everyone else in the main castle learned this lesson very quickly. They anger her at their own peril.

"Of course you didn't, child. You were off into dreamland and outright refusing to exit from it, so I had to force you awake with a quick zap of lightning. Worked, didn't it? Nyeah heh heh heh!~" Kammy chuckled as she shook her head for a small bit. "Enough of that for now though, you oughta go brush your teeth. Can't have foul breath so early in the morning. How else do you thing your father has clean white choppers?"

"Do I have to brush NOW, though?"

"Hmm...you're right. You should eat some breakfast first. It would kinda defeat the purpose if you brush first and eat later, wouldn't it?" Kammy said with some slight deep thought. "Right, right. Go on ahead and eat breakfast first, _then_ go brush your teeth. That's the proper order to this. Go on then!" Kammy said, gently pushing him along out of his room, which he groaned loudly at.

"Alright alright, I'm goin'..." Junior pouted while yawning aloud. He rolled his eyes a bit while the elder Koopa follows him to the kitchen where breakfast was already prepared for him. "Where are the others? My siblings?"

"The Koopalings _were_ here for a little bit. They were up early, against their will might I add. They had things to do outside the castle that really required their attention. They like to be lazy, but I plan on fixing that as soon as I can."

Junior chuckled. "Haha! They gotta do chores so early in the morning; meanwhile, I'm getting off scot-free!"

Kammy's glasses gleamed menacingly while smiling. "Oh? So ya think because you're the youngest that you're getting away from doing any chores? Maybe I can simply find something for you to do then. You don't wish to feel left out, do you?~" Junior blinked a bit, a flash of nervousness flashing across his eyes before he swiftly turned to his breakfast-consisting of bacon and eggs along with orange juice...but mostly bacon-and began eating it immediately. Kammy chuckles at this as she turns to leave, already knowing he would finish it all. Royal Koopas tended to be a very hungry bunch.

Junior swallowed some of his bacon before immediately turning towards Kammy. "Kammy...I was up for a little while after my bedtime. know I wasn't suppose to be up past that...but there was something about him last night. He came home all tired and angry at himself...is Papa okay?"

Kammy paused for a moment, wincing at the intense concern behind the usually cheerful and mischievous child. She took a deep breath and responded as honestly as she could without revealing the full truth. "Your father has had a very long night, sweetie. And he needed quite a lot of rest when he came back home. I'm worried about him too, so I'll help kamek check up on him if that will put you a bit more at ease."

"...Okay." Junior nodded towards her as he continued eating, while Kammy turned her back on him while sighing. She waved her wand once and teleported out of the kitchen, leaving the young koopa in the care of several Goombas and Paratroopas that would help him clean up afterwards...and by that it means they would do the cleaning for him. As long as Kammy didn't eventually find out about it, he could cleverly find a loophole around her rather observant eyes.

She _is_ slightly senile, after all. And again, it was no longer smart to say so to her face.

Meanwhile, Kammy reappeared in a bright flash of light as she stood outside Bowser's bedroom door, which was quite huge. Though it obviously wasn't comparable to the inside of it, which had quite a high emphasis when it came to the King of Koopas himself. He likes to plaster his face on nearly everything. They share that kind of vanity, except she doesn't have nearly as many things with her face plastered on them. It would sure be nice though. She pushed the doors open and stepped inside. She could clearly see her King lying rather uncomfortably on his bed, having been in a deep yet unfulfilling sleep for the rest of the night since he returned. Shaking her head, she walked up to Kamek after clearing her nerves.

"Kamek...how is he?"

"He's been in quite a deep sleep ever since we got home last night. He really needed it ever since the bombshells be wasn't prepared for having been dropped on him. It really shook him." Kamek sighed, shaking his head. "And as usual, he hides his discomfort behind genuine anger so we won't see it. But I've been looking out for him since he was a young Koopa. I know when he's trying to hide discomfort. Anger is usually his most successful method towards anyone...anyone but me that is."

Kammy frowned a bit as she walked around the bed, her paws clasped behind her back as she gazed at Bowser's conflicted, uncomfortable face. "I'm guessing he's also using sleep as an excuse to not be open with his emotions?"

"That's a consistent problem with him. He believes that opening up might be emotionally compromising and make him look weak in front of his troops. Being King, he's not entirely wrong about it. I still don't think he should use that as an excuse to hide his discomfort. He knows he can talk to us at anytime. That's what a right-hand Koopa does. They listen to their problems and help whenever they can."

"Agreed. But alas, he's a stubborn king with an impressive stubborn streak. He's not going to open up emotionally, at least not as much as he should." Kammy shook her head as she gently placed her paw on Bowser's head, lightly petting it. Had he been awake, he would have immediately slapped her away and wonder what the heck she was doing. But he was deep within dreamland, so he showed no intentions on waking up because of this. Kamek wondered if he managed to, ahem, _borrow_ one of the Pi'illo's from Pi'illo island, place one under Bowser's head, and see what he was dreaming about. He, like Luigi and unlike Mario, has a very intuitive feeling for the Dream World, able to shape his own world from within. Though his dreams usually consisted of Bowser sitting in big scary castles with Peach in a cage and using Mario and Luigi as punching bags, laughing like a mad child.

He agreed that particular adventure was one of Bowser's closest successes aside from the one after it, which involved the Sprixies. He's been growing more and more competent as time goes on. But it didn't really do much for Bowser's confidence, especially not after confronting Rosalina. He knew it was a bad idea, but it turns out it was for an entirely different reason.

"...He must have really wanted to see that Rosalina, did he?" Kammy noted while turning towards Kamek. "He might not really think that this would be worth it, the emotional turmoil. Bet he really didn't wish to have even more emotional baggage, especially one such as this. Though I do know that he a Koopa of few regrets. This may be one of the few genuine regrets that he has, as it's brought up a few things he doesn't want to admit might fill him with self-doubt."

"If he wasn't filled with self-doubt before, he definitely is now." Kamek said while lightly scratching his head after removing his hat for a few moments. "I really shouldn't have allowed him to go see Rosalina. I had a sinking feeling that something like this would happen. And k must say, it's both not as bad AND worse than I thought it might be. I honestly thought he was going to rampage throughout the Comet Observatory when she spoke out about his obsession with Peach without batting an eye. His reaction was actually pretty subdued, but then I hear him grumbling to himself, saying a few spiteful words towards himself before going to sleep. And even _in_ his sleep, he's not thinking very highly about himself right now. And it might persist even in the future."

"How so? What did she say?" Kammy asked worriedly. Kamek turned towards Kammy and began recounting the events.

Bowser grumbled a bit in his sleep when Kammy stops petting him. He hasn't heard any bit of their conversation, but he was nonetheless feeling a bit uncomfortable within his lumber. And as for his dreams...

Well, his dreams weren't in the best shape.

 **(Dream World)**

Bowser was slowly sinking into an unconscious part of his mind, around the edge if the deepest depths of his dreams. And he has dreams about many things. Most of them involved conquest as usual. Others obviously involved Princess Peach being captured as usual and the Mario Bros ending up defeated and being used as living doormats every time he enters his castle. His castle standing proud, tall, and filled with intense amounts of intimidation. And he was the owner of it all. He was the almighty King Bowser!

...At least he likes to boast that. Now, he wasn't so sure he deserved such a title. Not after what he heard last night. It genuinely haunted him, and he hated how much it shook him. Especially since it was his own idea to seek Rosalina out in the first place. There was no way he could pin that idea on anyone but himself. It turns out the truth was much more powerful than lies. This truth effortlessly shattered a majority of his confidence, which gave way to reveal some rather intense negative emotions disagreeing with one another:

 _You're being all shaken up over THIS? Don't make me laugh!_

 _He has every right to be shaken by this! He realizes that he's crossed the line!_

 _Technically he never did cross it. Entirely different universe._

 _That doesn't mean his paws are clean. Things might have been restored differently, but that doesn't make him any less responsible!_

 _This is an overreaction at best and a pathetic whine at worst. It was Mario who foiled us! He's always the one foiling us and our plans! Had he just stayed out of the way, we would have been completely victorious!_

 _That's the problem. We DID almost get away with it. But then Bowser HAD to go back for Peach. He was doing perfectly fine without having her around. He would have gone to rule the universe without Mario never knowing it. But no. Peach HAD to be there! Look at what good that's done!_

 _We've always been chasing after Peach! What's the big deal?!_

 _The 'big deal' is that there was much more to lose from that decision than it was possible to gain! And he did so anyway with reckless abandon! And look at where that recklessness got us? The universe got erased because of OUR selfishness! It's gotten too far that this time. TOO FAR._

 _Bah! How do we even know that Space Girl was even being truthful about all of that junk?_

 _WE'RE the ones who went to her for answers. She's blameless. For once, take responsibility for your actions and recognize that you've DEEPLY cross the line with that scheme. It doesn't matter if this is a different universe, it's like that because we started the cycle early! Everyone died! Including US! Our KINGDOM! PEACH! And...! And...Junior. Our flesh and blood was erased along with us...time to face facts. We messed up. BADLY._

 _What does it matter if it's wrong to anyone else or not!? So what if we messed up a little? We're the King of Koopas! There's nothing we can't do when we set our minds to it! That includes ruling the universe!_

 _Not if ruling the universe comes at a great risk to Junior! He paid for our ignorance and our greed! We CAN'T let that happen again! He means far too much to us to lose him over something so trivial!_

 _Our love for Peach is NOT trivial!_

 _Chasing her that time has **LITERALLY** been the death of us! We can NOT drag Junior down with us again!_

"RRRAAAAAAGH! _SHUT UP!_ " Bowser's aggravated roar echoed throughout his dreamscape, sending everything away in a very powerful shockwave; everything was cleared from his sight until he was the only one left. He snarled angrily while clenching his fists. He couldn't think properly with all of this noise! Surely he couldn't be feeling THIS guilty! But that was hard to deny, because now he was outright arguing with himself! It was a notion so ridiculous that he had no idea how he should deal with it. Or if he's capapble of dealing with it at all.

Why oh why did he ever seek out that Space Princess? He could have done much better if he had simply ignored his gut feeling, and went on to never have this heavy guilt weighing on his heart. But being the stubborn Koopa that he is, he refused to give in in such a manner. Rosalina was on his mind and he seeked her out for answers. It wasn't her fault that the answers he was looking for were somewhat too much for him to handle. Why would she even tell him all of this? So calmly and with a straight face? She could have hidden the truth from him and he never would have known. But she had nothing to gain from lying and hiding the truth. Or better yet, lying and deliberately hiding the truth was simply not something she does. Still, she could have been a bit more gentle and at least _sound_ more saddened by her revelation towards him.

Then again, she did apologize for giving the information in a somewhat emotionless manner. So she definitely wasn't trying to hurt him on purpose, despite having a very good reason to. She was actually rather polite; he was sure she would have shared snacks with him if she had some prepared for the both of them.

He shook his head and clawed at his head a bit. What was he supposed to do? There was no one to blame for this massive misshap. Any more denial to his part in the catyclism would be seen as cowardice, and Bowser is no coward. He accepted that he can't shift the blame on his minions or even Mario, as he was the one who provoked the Plumber in the first place.

 _"If you still somewhat doubt my words, you can ask Mario. I know despite your hostility, he will not lie to you."_

...That was it. He knew what he wanted to do next. It was rather stupid, but he was not going to stray from the decision.

 **(Real Word)**

"...Oh Dear. That's...that's terrible." Kammy muttered in disbelief as Kamek finished recalling what he knew based on what Rosalina told him and Bowser. Kammy listened with curious detail, which soon turned into terror around the time he reached the very end. Kammy couldn't help but touch her heart instinctively. "So...all of us...everyone and everything...was destroyed? And then we were somehow reborn completely unharmed, yet certain things are different?"

"The only ones to survive the transition into this new universe was Mario and Rosalina herself. I must say, the plumber's luck has become outright ridiculous with that reveltion. I aree with his Royal Highness, that's outright unfair." Kamek two Magikoopas jumped as Bowser slowly slides out of bed with a determined frown on his face, and he then began leaving his large room. "Y-Your Viciousness! W-Where are you going?!"

"I'm off to Mushroom Kingdom. Me and the plumber need to exchange words...and fists." Bowser snarled angrily, his footprints leaving flames in their wake. He was briefly stopped as his door opened before he could even touch it. His temper coold somewhat as he could see Junior behind the doorway, being the one to open it. "Junior..."

"Oh, hi Papa. I just finished breakfast!" Junior exclaimed proudly, though his expression shifts back to worry as he walked up closer to him. "Is...is everything alright, Papa? You look tired..."

"No, son. I'm fine, Everything's fine." Bowser smiled as he leaned down and pulled the younger Koopa in a gentle fatherly hug, and a rather tight and loving one as well. Junior was briefly confused, but he was also simply happy that the two of them were hugging. So eh didn't question it, melting in his father's embrace. The young prince was completely oblivious to the worry stemming from his father's body. The relieved tears that threatened to leave his eyes, which he refused to blink closed for any reason for an extended period of time. It was childish and stupid, but Bowser dared not to blink while he had Junior in his arms. After the whole conversation with Rosalina and his mental arguement with himself, he ws greatly relieved to be hugging Junior as he was now, grateful that he was completely healthy and as adorable as ever.

And above all, he was still alive, not having been erased from existence as a casualty from his folly. He had never felt such terror in his life. needless to say that his intense protectiveness over Junior has just increased, as well as how much he greatly appreciated having him in his life. But now, Bowser fears that Junior has to be protected from so much more..and he feared that he himself has been added to that list. He soon shook his head.

He needed to focus. He knew Rosalina wasn't lying...but he needed to hear Mario's side. He needed to be _absolutely_ sure, since the plumber was the only other person who remembered. But Bowser was filled with such frustration and rage from his inner conflict...

Oh well. He'll relieve it by punching Mario's face in.

* * *

 **As you were able to see, it was Kammy Koopa! As I said before, after the first two Paper Mario games, she just...disappears. Never to be seen again. At least she is still somewhat relevant character in some Mario fanfiction I've read, and she'll be a regular in this one. Here, she acts as Junior's caretaker whenever Bowser or Kamek aren't watching him and the Koopalings are minding their own business. They're all somewhat intimidated by her, despite being slightly senile.**

 **Heading towards the Mushroom Kingdom next chapter... and Bowser's bringing his fists.**


	5. Mario

**You could say that this is the end of a a stage. And an interesting part about it, it doesn't even involve Rosalina that much. No, this ending first stage is clearly on Bowser's side. The stages after this will feature the both of them more often. A scuffle happens that doesn't follow standard Mario rules-won't be the last time-a sad acceptance, and future plans.**

 **All it takes is a significant combination of words. Something Bowser never thought he'd say. I'm certain you'll know what they are when you read them.**

* * *

The Mushroom Kingdom. Land of the Toads, home of Princess Peach, and the protectorate of some of it's greatest heroes: Mario and Luigi. AKA: The Mario Bros. And occasionally, it's also under protection of Yoshi, who's primarily residing within his home, Yoshi's Island,: Home of the Yoshi's. This is one of those times that Yoshi has come to visit some of his closest friends. In this case...he was pretty eager to eat some great food that Mushroom Kingdom had to offer...not that his home didn't have any great food. But it was always interesting for him to try for a bit of variety once in a while. Though aside from his desire to appease his hungry belly, he really was intending on visiting his beloved friends.

The toads were merrily walking about within their town, taking great enjoyment in the current peace that's befallen their Kingdom. After their last serious encounter with Bowser, there hasn't been so much as a peep from him. They didn't know if he was simply taking a break from trying to kidnap the Princess again or is just not in the mood for it. Either way, they weren't complaining too much about the peace and quiet. Though they were most certain that he was going to show up again at some point, they chose not to waste their time worrying about it. Right now, they were just going to enjoy their day while it was quiet and peaceful for the most part. And even so, they knew that their beloved heroes would come to their aid whenever trouble does come their way.

Though they did sometimes wonder if they were really in competent hands. Especially when they tend to have moments like this:

"How long has he been like this, again?" Mario deadpanned as he sees Luigi simply slouching in his chair, seemingly in a deep sleep. The older twin could only sigh as Luigi's cap covered the upper half of his face while his mouth covered and his nose occasionally twitching every few seconds.

"If I were to take a solid guess...I'd say about three hours." Peach said with a sheepish smile. "What did you say he was doing last night, again?"

"Polterpup has grown especially rowdy for a little bit, and the other ghosts had joined in on the hijinks. It took Luigi all night to get them to settle down. By the time he actually succeeded, it was morning." Mario scratched his head with a sigh. Due to a rather amazing set of circumstances, Luigi had to face his fear of ghosts in order to rescue his brother Mario from the clutches of King Boo-for the _second_ time-and the experiences were **_highly_** uncomfortable for him. As of those adventures, Luigi has mostly conquered his fear of ghosts, enough for him to have a house crawling with the friendly ones, and to even adopt one as a pet.

Polterpup is a ghost...but he was also just a puppy. Luigi was never seriously afraid of this specific ghost. At most, Luigi was simply annoyed with how he tended to impede his progress when he really didn't have time to play with him. But when all is said and done, he ended up happily adopting the ghost pup as his own, and very clearly loves him, and vice versa. Though it's also very clear that Polterpup and his ghost friends also tend to wear Luigi down with their antics. They're still mischievous, just not to the point of actually hurting anyone. Unfortunately for Luigi, they still manage to tire him out with their less dangerous antics, hence why he's sleeping in the middle of the day at this moment.

"Oh dear. Master Luigi seems to have dozed off again." Toadsworth, Peach's loyal-sometimes overbearing-advisor who always made her safety one of his top priorities. Hence his extreme stress-sometimes to the point of outright _fainting_ -whenever Bowser kidnaps her, and has to leave her safety and rescue in the hands of the Mario Bros. Sometimes Peach, as much as she cares about the elder Toad, becomes rather exasperated by how overprotective he is. She swears he'll give himself a heart attack for always panicking over her whenever she isn't within his sight when he's unsure of her safety. He ultimately means well, though. "How long has it been? Three hours?"

"It looks like it's going to go way past three hours at this rate. Oh well." Mario shrugged as he simply patted Luigi's shoulder, semi-expecting him to wake. When he didn't, he rolled his eyes and turned to Peach and Toadsworth. Though he looked to the side and clearly sees Yoshi waving at him from the entrance of the castle. "Oh! It's Yoshi!~"

"Hiya Mario!~" Yoshi replied with a chipper chirp and bob of his head. He and Mario were quick to run towards one another and embrace one another in a hug.

"It's pretty great to see you, Yoshi. How's the island by the way?"

"Everything is nice and orderly...oh who am I kidding? We mess around a LOT." Yoshi chuckled while releasing his friend."Though in terms on of someone actually bothering us, no. Everything is fine and dandy. Everyone's happy, energetic, and hungry. Mostly the latter two." He beamed as his tongue hung out of his mouth slightly. "Speaking of just the latter, do you have anything good to eat?~" Mario sighed a little, though he then pointed towards the rather large kitchen, which Yoshi wasted little to no time rushing towards.

"Of course he would come around for a few bites to eat. He's been doing that often, sometimes out of boredom." Mario rolled his eyes with a slight chuckle, shaking his head. Peach also giggled slightly from Yoshi's antics. But he was at least genuine about wanting to see them all again. Some things tend to escape his notice because he was busy minding his own home, much like Donkey Kong within Kong Ko. But there's no mistake to be made when one knows that he does what he can to help when he _is_ around. And when he's around at those times, he's usually instrumental in assisting with whatever journey the heroes find themselves in.

"Now now, let's not cheapen Yoshi's visits. We know that he comes to see us because we're his friends." Peach said a bit sternly.

"I know, I know. It wasn't meant to be anything offensive, I swear." Mario smiled. He managed a small chuckle as he was hearing the munching of food from the kitchen, highly aware that Yoshi was gleefully helping himself. "So anyway...while the Toads are more than happy to enjoy the peace and quiet, they're also incredibly cautious of whatever might serve to disturb this peace. They should really relax a little more. No use stressing yourself out always looking out and waiting for trouble to come to you. I believe I'm a bit more effective once the threat actually presents itself."

"Hm...do you think Bowser is alright?" Peach said while palming her cheek in a bit of concern. In all honesty, despite rumors saying otherwise, she liked Bowser. She really did. As a _friend_. She's one of the few who know that Bowser is actually not as bad as he believes he is, as she's caught several instances of him being a relatively decent person. It's why she's alright with Mario inviting Bowser over to public events, and she herself is perfectly willing to be civil with him...as long as he behaves. When he doesn't...well, that's when everyone else has to step in. While she is by no means a fan of Bowser always kidnapping her and/or attacking her Kingdom, that didn't mean she didn't care about him. And his extended silence caused her some degree of worry.

Mario was a bit concerned as well, but he was better at shrugging off the more negative implications of it. "There's no reason to worry. Bowser's a strong and stubborn King. Maybe he'll be around to attack us, or maybe he'll be somewhat relaxed and we can have fun together. I make a point to learn to adapt to either scenario as quickly as I possibly can. That way I'll be able to focus on either stopping him or making sure he doesn't cause trouble. If there's one thing we can be sure about, is that nothing keeps Bowser down forever."

"Yes. That's definitely a fact we can't deny." Peach agreed quietly, while Toadsworth scoffed.

"His determination is indeed worthy of praise. If only he puts that determination into something more productive than trying to kidnap the Princess or causing trouble for the Mushroom Kingdom. If it wasn't for that, I daresay that even with his rough and somewhat disrespectful attitude, his competence as a King is genuine."

"Yeah. Competent, and ridiculously stubborn. That's a rather dangerous combination for him to have as traits. And he's only growing even _more_ competent with every battle. No one can call him a dumb brute anymore." Mario added with folded arms. "He's really growing harder and harder to fight."

"I hope that someday, we wont have to fight at all..." Peach sighed.

 _ **CRASH!**_

Everyone-aside from the still sleeping Luigi, amazingly-jumped a bit in shock as something crashed down through the roof, and landing harshly in the ground, picking up a cloud of smoke and cracking the ground in multiple directions.

"GOOD HEAVENS! WHAT HAPPENED?!" Toadsworth gasped, looking around rapidly in a panic.

Mario tried to regain his own bearings through the cloud of smoke, until he eventually sees the one responsible. Two glowing crimson orbs pierced through the cloud, glaring down on him. It didn't take him much time to figure out exactly who was the owner of those eyes.

 _ **"Mario..."**_ Bowser growled deeply, with clenched fists and his razor teeth grinding tightly against one another.

"Bowser? You actually crashed _directly_ through the roof? You usually just bash the door down or something like that." Mario said, gaining enough of his bearings to stand straight. "Are you gonna try and kidnap the Princess again?"

"Not now. I'm in a VERY irritable mood today. Fortunately for her, she doesn't have much to do with it. _Un_ fortunately for _you_ , I've got this unbearable fiery desire to smash your face in. No theatrics this time. Just a straight battle" Bowser grinned darkly as he cracked his knuckles. "Now I don't wanna wreck the castle more than I already have... _ **so let's take this outside.**_ " That was all the warning Mario received before Bowser unceremoniously punches Mario across his cheek, and the momentum sent the plumber flying straight through the wall, and right over town near the plains. Bowser began climbing through the hole, but soon turned towards Peach and smiled, all anger vanishing for a moment. "Peach."

"B...Bowser...?" Peach blinked, not completely sure how to react.

"Be glad to know that I'm not intending on capturing you today. Do continue on as you were." He then shot a look towards the still sleeping Luigi. He raised an eyebrow. "What's his deal?"

"Um...Polterpup was keeping him from sleeping with him and his friends running around...?"

"Huh. Even as a ghost, dogs keep people up at night with their barking." Bowser shrugged. "Now where was I...oh yeah!" He roared wildly as he jumped up high through the hole to pursue his prey.

Peach turned towards Toadsworth...he fainted from the sudden entrance of Bowser. Luigi was still sleeping, and Yoshi didn't seem to hear the commotion. She simply sighed and shook her head as she runs through her castle doors, intent on pursuing the two.

In the meantime, Mario was trying to pull himself out of the Mario-shaped hole in the ground after Bowser punched him. The dragon was serious about this. He had no interest in kidnapping Peach today. He simply wanted to physically harm Mario, _badly._ Mario eventually pulled himself up and brushed the dirt off of his hat, just as Bowser landed with a thundering stomp, a few feet in front of him.

"There. Now you don't have to act all heroic on me and whine about getting innocents in the crossfire. We're in the plains. No one else is around." Bowser clenched his fists. "You and me. No fancy power-ups from either of us. A straight fight until one of us collapses."

"Bowser, what's going on with you?!" Mario shouted as he brushed himself off for a bit and looked towards the dragon, seeing the fury in his eyes. "I've seen you angry, but never like this."

"I've got many things to be angry about. Here's a tip: YOU'RE PART OF AT LEAST HALF OF THEM!" Bowser roared as he rushes towards Mario for another powerful punch. Now that Mario was prepared, however, he was able to counter it with a well-timed jump, and briefly stomped on Bowser's head. The dragon gritted his teeth, immediately grabbing Mario's leg and smashing him into the ground, before kicking him in the head, sending him flying into a boulder, creating a crater. "That jumping business won't help you much here. I'm much more hard-headed."

"I noticed..." Mario grunted while falling on his feet, rubbing his head. Bowser snarled and moved quickly towards Mario for another punch. Mario ducked under it and punches Bowser back, sending him skidding a few feet back across the ground. Physical-wise, Mario's strength was definitely below Bowser's. But it was still considerable enough to deal some damage to the Koopa King, who seemed appreciative of the blow for some reason, rubbing his jaw with a grin.

"There...that's better. Much better. You're gonna be serious about this." Bowser stated strongly, before he clenched his fists again and stepped forward. "It isn't as fun to beat you senseless if you're not gonna fight back a bit.

 _This is ridiculous!_

 _What's ridiculous about it?! We're beating up our enemy! Just like we always do!_

 _We're doing it on blind, misplaced anger! As much as we hate Mario, he's not to blame here! Beating him down isn't going to make us any less guilty!_

 _But it will feel **GREAT!**_

Bowser shuts out the voices for the moment as he focuses on beating his lifetime rival. Mario was more active this time, running towards Bowser. Bowser attempted to punch him, which Mario ducked under and retaliated with an uppercut to his chin. Bowser's jaw was once again pulsed with pain, but he clenched his teeth as well as his fists, standing straight and headbutting Mario downwards, smashing the plumber into the ground. Bowser lifted his foot to stomp on said plumber, though Mario rolled out of the way just in time, the limb greatly cratering the ground where he used to be.

Mario took notice of how Bowser hasn't shot any fireballs at him. He must be really insistent on beating Mario from pure physical might alone. He was definitely keeping his word on that part. He was serious, even though he had no idea how this came up and why. But one thing is for sure: Mario wasn't just going to stand around and take it. He demonstrate this by jumping over Bowser's next punch, then kicking him in the side of the head instead of stomping on him. Bowser growled and attempted to retaliate, but Mario landed right behind him and grabbed him by the tail. It took only one heave for him to lift the larger Koopa and throw him across the plans, landing on his face and skidding across the ground. He snarled even more viciously as stands back up on his feet with clenched fists.

"Bowser, what is even the point of this? You've skipped right over kidnapping Peach and skipped straight to trying to punch my lights out! Did something happen?!" Mario asked with exasperation. Usually it wouldn't really matter if Bowser had a reason for his anger because he would already know. But here Bowser was, confronting him directly and is only interested in fighting him as roughly and painfully as possible. The fury was clear in his eyes and is directed solely at Mario, though he can't think of anything that would have irritated him enough to attack him like this. Their lifetime rivalry, as good a reason as it was, Mario felt like it wasn't the only reason he was attacking him like this today.

Bowser snorted, steam escaping his jaws and smoke flowing from his nostrils. "I think it's quite obvious why I'm doing this. I want you _HURT_ you. **_BADLY._** " Bowser growled while stomping towards him, cracking the ground. "You just can't let me win, can you? No. _No_. You always have to be the grand knight in shining armor that beats down the big scary dragon and then save the Princess. No mention is ever given to the Dragon. No one really cares about the dragon. He's just there to be conquered, to simply make the hero look heroic for his precious Princess. Over. And Over. And _OVER_. We've been through this song and dance for years on end, right from our childhood. And I have to be perfectly honest: I! AM! _**SICK OF IT!**_ "

Mario narrowed his eyes as Bowser prepared another much stronger punch. This time Mario decides to meet it head-on; he was quick to throw a considerable punch of his own. Both of them met their targets, right in each others jaws. This sent them both into skidding back from one another, the skid marks actually steaming quite a bit. The injuries were clear on their faces, Mario having a black eye, while Bowser had a slight welt on his cheek. They glared at each other once again, before charging at each other once again...

Only to be blown back in both directions, but not by each other. Princess Peach slowly descended in between with her hands outstretched. She was the one who sent them flying, and with a stern glare.

"That is ENOUGH, you two!" Peach said sternly, occasionally shifting her head to look at them for a few moments. Usually she didn't have much problems with Mario and Bowser fighting, and she would know that Mario was fighting Bowser for her sake. That and she wasn't in any position to stop them. But she was now, and she felt the need to stop this battle before it escalated further. "Bowser, what is the matter with you?! I know you usually attack without warning, but in this manner, this is unlike you! What is this about?!"

"Peach, I don't wanna hurt you...but you need to get outta my way. I'm not done with him." Bowser snarled.

"Absolutely NOT. You just attack Mario out of the blue, skipping right over me, for no reason other than you're upset! Why are you so upset?!"

"I..."

"Well? What's the matter?! This isn't your usual rage. You're legitimately and heavily upset...why?"

Bowser panted softly, slowly gazing towards the also panting Mario, then towards the stern but worried Peach, then back towards Mario. After a few moments to contemplate his next action, he decided to get on with it. "Mario...do you remember?"

Mario raised an eyebrow, the one that wasn't swollen shut. "Remember what?"

"What happened in the other universe?" Bowser asked seriously, taking Mario off guard with confusion. "Don't play dumb with me. I've had a sinking feeling about something...I just want to know, Mario! Do you REALLY remember what happened? And I **_know_** you know what I'm talking about!" Bowser glared deeply, though a part of him really wants it to be false. Not that he didn't believe Rosalina...but he really wanted confirmation from the only other person that remembers.

He could tell by Mario's body language. The moment he said 'universe', it took several moments for it to click. Mario's eyes glimmered for a few moments in recognition and surprise, wondering how Bowser would remember something like that. The look in Bowser's eyes lost their rage, and instead was placed with saddened acceptance.

 _So...it IS true...it **really** happened..._

His paws slowly unclenched, and he hung his head slightly. He did raise one of his paws to snap his fingers. His Clown Car descended right next to him, and he began climbing into it. "I'm...I'm done here. I'm gonna leave before I embarrass myself further..."

"Bowser...?" Peach lowered her hands and her eyes lost all it's authority. Now it was only concern.

"Forget it. It's...it's nothing." Bowser's voice lost all of it's fire. Now it was just full of melancholy acceptance. It really was all his fault. Everyone aside from Mario and Rosalina...have been erased in a previous universe. Everyone died. And he had no one to blame for himself, not even Mario for trying to stop him. It was his plan to begin with. And because of everyone, he...

Bowser slowly turned towards Mario, and the plumber was briefly surprised by the amount of regret in his eyes.

"Mario...I'm sorry."

Mario was completely shocked at this, his eyes widening as Bowser slowly flew off in his Clown Car, until he was out of sight. Peach made her way over to Mario, placing a hand on his shoulder as she too sees Bowser fly away. She then turned towards Mario, her worry now fully visible.

"Mario...did Bowser just say he's sorry...?"

"I think he did." Mario said while clutching his arm and wincing slightly from the pain. He was surprised that Bowser was able to vaguely remember something like the erasure of the previous universe. Either this, or he simply pieced it together from an outside force. Bowser wasn't nearly as dumb as everyone thinks, just impulsive. And now he knows something very tragic happened in the previous universe, and technically never happened in this one. And to think Bowser still, while not really remembering all of the details, still clearly feels guilty about this, to the point of actually _apologizing._

Bowser _**never**_ apologizes.

This must have really shaken him up.

Meanwhile, Bowser was alone in his thoughts, sighing tiredly to himself. Well, that was it then. He can't dodge the blame anymore, not when his son has been caught up in it. He was completely responsible for what happened in the previous universe, and he tried to take out his furious confusion on Mario. And now that his rage subsided, he feels only melancholy. His greed has resulted in universal destruction. He couldn't not feel guilty about that, and he partially wished he remained blissfully unaware. But he wanted the truth, and that's what he got...it's quite an ugly truth indeed.

The Koopa King was lost in his melancholy, wondering what he should do next. He then looked towards the skies, where the stars weren't currently visible at the time. The stars...

 _Bowser...if you would like to speak with me again...I will be here._

Rosalina offered her council for whenever he wishes to visit her again.

.. _.It looks like I really will take her up on her offer..._

* * *

 **There we go. The end of a stage. Bowser has now fully and truly accepted that what he did was entirely his fault, and the only reason he's been forgiven for it is because Mario and grudges don't mix, Rosalina accepted it as a natural cycle, and nobody else remembers.**

 **Now the relationship building can truly begin.**

 **Note that I am not gonna rush this pairing, but I'll also try not to be sluggishly slow with it. They both have reasons to be anxious around each other. But once they push past that...**

 **...Until next time, readers.**


	6. The Second Meeting

**This is the one in which a Koopa King and a Space Princess commence their second meeting. And the Koopa King feels cheated. Though not in the way one might expect.**

* * *

Bowser was a very goal-oriented individual when he truly wills himself to become one. If he becomes weak, he strives to be strong. People call him a dumb brute? He shows that he has the brains to back up his brawn, time and again. Someone doesn't believe that he can be a decent person in a crisis that endangers everyone? Then he'll-reluctantly-put aside his pride and work alongside the enemy in order to combat and defeat a greater evil than himself. It was those particular moments-as well as him genuinely loving and caring for his son-that are crystal clear indicators that he wasn't nearly as bad as he portrays himself to be, even though he does come pretty close to meeting those vocal standards he placed on himself. Though because of that very last bit, he feels like he must do what he plans on doing next, no matter how much the darker side of him may believe otherwise.

"Your Hastiness! Are you sure this is what you want to do...?" Kamek asked, slightly unsure about this as he was aboard Bowser's airship, the Koopa King himself up front with folded arms and staring directly ahead without blinking. "I mean, I know that Rosalina said that she would attempt to council you whenever you wish, and you could visit at any time...but I didn't think you would actually take her up on her offer! There's nothing for you to gain!"

"Information, Kamek. For two reasons. I'm still wishing to learn what makes her tick. And since she's pretty much a cosmic goddess when it comes to power, I don't want her to turn on me at one point. A one on one fight with her...I'm not gonna win on my own." Bowser grumbled to himself. "I don't like having to admit that picking a fight with someone might amount to my loss, but accepting it as a possibility would work out better for me than arrogantly assuming that she couldn't do anything to me. She used that Observatory of hers to cut completely through my fleet like it was a knife cutting butter. I really don't want that kind of power biting me in the tail, because she won't fall for manipulation."

"So...you're learning more about her...so you can come up with a strategy to properly disable her if she were to come and be a detriment to future plans!" Kamek guessed in a very praising manner.

"...Sure. Let's go with that." Bowser would much rather avoid having to fight Rosalina in case she ever finds a reason to. Because again, regrettably, he has to admit that a one-on-one with her wouldn't really end in his favor. He'd rather not push his luck more than he already has. Though the deeper reaches of his mind truly did want to know more about her, his curiosity is the one thing that's keeping him from turning around and forgetting about her completely. He wouldn't just forget her, especially after she complied and told him what he needed to know. So in a rather weird way, this was his way of returning the favor...?

"Bah! That's a load of hooey, Kamek. You know Bowser wants to see this girl because he can!" Kammy huffed, tipping her nose upward. She has chosen to participate with them on this next trip, because the fuss they made over it was far too much for her to bear, she needed to see the interaction for herself. It was far too good to be true, with where her current mindset was going. She was guessing where this path was leading, and it interested her greatly.

"Shut up, senile old hag. You don't know anything about this." Bowser growled, shaking his head in denial.

 _SMACK!_

"GRAGH!"

"Don't you tell me to shut up, and don't call me a senile old hag! I already told ya I wouldn't tolerate your blatant disrespect anymore, _your Majesty_." Kammy huffed, having smacked him upside the head with her wand, She then flew in front of him with her broom and waved her want in front of her nose. "Now you listen here. This Rosalina souds like a really nice and polite woman, and I'm interested in meeting her. I don't want you doing anything to purposely make her upset, and you will NOT do anything to inconvenience her or the Lumas in any way. Are we clear on this?"

"You can't tell me what t-"

 _SMACK!_

"OW! Stop hitting me!"

"I said...ARE. WE. CLEAR?" Kammy reinforced, her eyes glaring directly into Bowsers, through her glasses. She dared him to defy her again, her wand crackling with magic. Bowser thought about simply scorching her...but she had her ways to make that completely useless. So he wouldn't push his luck; he growled again, folding his arms and turning away from her with a huff. She smiled as she gently floated back while gazing in the airships current direction. "There. Now that wasn't so hard, was it?~"

"Tch." Bowser didn't say anything more, not wanting to be humiliated by Kammy any more than he already has. Kamek wisely kept his mouth shut so he could avoid the same hostility from the older magikoopa, it really wasn't worth the hassle to argue with her. Though he did wonder if what Bowser was doing right now was worth the hassle right now, because Kammy was adamant about this whole trip NOT being worth the trouble. But alas, he would follow Bowser anywhere he would go, sometimes disregarding his own thoughts on the situation because of that loyalty. Sometimes he reveled in it...other tie, he curses it deeply, because it sometimes causes him to make foolish decisions that derail both of their progress. He didn't want this to be one of the times that NOT stepping in would result in something bad happening. He didn't know if he coul take the humiliation, or the fallout that would result from it.

His thoughts were eventually interrupted as the airship begins approaching it's destination: The Comet Observatory. They were really back here again, surprising Kamek, and pretty much all of the Lumas that were suddenly backing away from the airship with various about of anxious looks. Though the one that they came to see, Rosalina herself, was standing in front of the m all, and she didn't seem bothered at all. Instead, Rosalina spotted Bowser and sported a serene smile.

"Bowser. It quite nice to see you here again. I would have expected you to wait a while longer before you eventually make your way all the way up here." Rosalina said with a soft smile. All Bowser did was huff as he hopped off of his airship, landing on his feet. "Are you doing well, Bowser?"

"Yeah, whatever." Bowser rolled his eyes a bit at her rather warm greeting towards him He really didn't know how she operated on a mental standpoint. Here she was, saying that it was nice to see him again and asking how he's currently doing. He definitely wasn't going to show just how shaken up he was over finding out the truth from both survivors of the universe being destroyed. No, she shouldn't have to see that moment of utter weakness; he already showed it to Mario and Peach, and they weren't likely to forget it any time soon. There was no need for him to spread that any farther than it already has. "Alright, so I'm here. What are we gonna be doing?"

"You're quite straightforward, aren't you? Very well. Come with me." She says as she moves away from the platform and heads for the main rooms. Bowser huffed and followed her with folded arms. Polari eventually comes up to her side, looking between her and Bowser with grave concern for her safety. She could sense this worry for her, and softly shook her head. "Polari, Bowser is not here on antagonistic terms. Everything will be fine."

"That's right! We're not here to cause a ruckus! And I'm gonna make sure that it stays that way!" Kammy huffed, her glares bearing down on the two boys. It definitely had the intended effect, both of them suddenly shivered and made sure not to say anything that might make their situation worse. She nodded affirmatively at having made her point, while she turned to Rosalina with a kind smile. "It's nice to meet you, Dear. Oh just look at you! You're so beautiful, and so tall! No seriously, so tall and so beautiful! The gown, your eyes, your brooch, your blonde hair..." Kammy sighed softly while landing on the floor, holding onto her broom. "And you seem to have quite a peaceful face on ya. Well, not exactly peaceful in that sense of the word, but you look much calmer than I imagined you to be."

"I sometimes get that from friends down below. They can be rather stunned about my appearance at times. I tend to attract quite a bit of attention sometimes."

"I bet you do. I certainly bet that you do~" Kammy chuckled softly, which made Bowser huff in grave annoyance. "Though of course no one tends to notice you very easily, you're spending most of your days kooped up in this little observatory of yours." Bowser and Kamek inwardly groaned at the unaware pun she made. "Honestly, coming down more often will do you a lot of good I'd certainly like to think so."

"Your thoughts are appreciated. I do tend to come down more often ever since Mario recruited me to stop Bowser from antagonizing the Sprites." Rosalina says while turning to Bowser, who grumbled about things such as 'dumb luck' and how his tiger-like form due to the Bell power up certainly should have been the victor. "Hopefully he doesn't hold a grudge against me for helping Mario. I don't really know Bowser as much as I would like to."

"Great Koopa, someone actually wants to know Bowser better!" Kammy gasped in surprise. She then swiftly flew next to Bowser and bonked him on the snout. "You'd better not do or say anything to offend her, mister! She's actually making an effort to understand you beyond your egotistical mayhem within your thick skull!"

"Okay, OW! Are you really gonna keep smacking me?! I already said I wouldn't do anything you-" Kammy raised her wand threateningly. Bowser growled and folded his arms, turning away rom her. "This doesn't mean you won, you know."

"Sure it doesn't." Kammy smiled while putting away her wand. Kamek and Polari both sighed at this. While Rosalina...she actually chuckled a bit.

"What are you laughin' about? Ya laughin' at me?!" Bowser gritted his teeth.

"No no, that's not it at all. It's just amusing how much your guardians act so much like my own sometimes. Always caring for me and trying to lead me in the proper direction. Kammy is certainly doing her part, but she's a bit more eccentric about it than I might have expected her to be. It's very obvious that she cares about you." Rosalina explained as they finally made it into one of the main rooms, notably the kitchen. This was quite a surprise on Bowser's part. Because she actually did prepare plenty of snacks for the soft and friendly occasion. Bowser turned to Rosalina for a few moments, who was still smiling towards him for a few moments. He huffed again, before begrudgingly sitting down and accepting her slight offering. She obviously took the time to remember what food he liked during their brief encounter for the very first time.

Kamek blinked owlishly. "That's quite a bit of meat and drumsticks...when did she find the time to prepare these...?" He then mentally smacked himself; she had plenty of Lumas around to help her, of course she could prepare then decently quickly. A better more understandable question, then: "Why would you take the time to prepare all of this?"

"Why? I've already said that I wish to be hospitable to Bowser whenever he chooses to visit. I sensed him coming this time, so I was able to prepare a bit more accordingly this time. Remembering that he's very much a meat-eater certainly helps." Rosalina says to him before turning to the Koopa King, who was quite busy eating a few drumsticks while semi-blocking everything else out. After such stress on his mind, he could use a break to simply eat. But not too much. "So...Bowser."

"Yeah...?" Bowser mumbled while holding a drumstick close to his face, nonchalantly focusing one eye on her and the other on the meat in front of him.

"I hope I'm not intruding on personal business when I say this...but are you sure you're okay? I can sense a bit more turmoil within your heart than usual. Did you do something that got you hurt?"

"Physically hurt? Kinda. But in that regard, I can tank pretty much anything below universe ending. Emotionally hurt...that's a bit of a different story." Bowser sighed while briefly putting his food down. "I did a few things after our chat. Had a bit of a crisis of conscience while thinking back on what you said to me. Then after that, I decided to relieve some of my stress by beating up Mario."

"That's a rather odd way to relieve stress..."

"We all have our ways. Anyway, it was a pretty intense encounter. I didn't use gimmicks, he didn't use gimmicks. I simply wanted to beat him up so that the bad feeling in my chest would go away. But no. It only got worse when he confirmed that my plans did result in the universe being destroyed. It doesn't matter if he didn't exactly say anything g. The silent acknowledgement in his eyes, the surprise they held that you actually told me about something like that...it really messed with my head and my heart. I actually _apologized_ to him after our fighting stopped."

"You apologized. That sounds like a perfectly reasonable action to me. I don't see anything wrong with it."

"Lady. Ya don't get it. I'm a King. KING Bowser. I burn things, punch things, cause a ruckus, est everyone's food, and don't feel the least bit bad about it. Heck, I sometimes laugh straight to their faces! I don't apologize. Yet...this is the second time I've done so throughout much entire life. To worsen things, I actually apologized to my top rival, of all things. I apologized to _**Mario**_. You have NO idea how difficult that was for me to do."

"Ah yes. You're a very prideful Koopa King." Rosalina nodded in acknowledgement. "Dome day that I sign of true royal maturity is knowing that you've done something wrong, and have enough humility to apologize for it. Even if it's towards someone you don't particularly like. In this case, Mario." She nodded. "It's quite easy to tell, if one looks at it long enough."

"What do you mean?"

"You continue to portray yourself as this being of pure selfishness and evil, and you go out of your way to try and live up to those claims. While it is very true that you can be a genuine and competent danger...it's not to the extent that people can't look past it. As you said, you apologized to who is essentially your arch-enemy. That's a very clear sign of how guilty you feel about what had happened. How you're not as evil as you think you are. How horrified you are to learn that Bowser Junior was also a casualty in your plan: You were absolutely horrified when that became evident."

"...Yeah. I was. I didn't think too much about how these things might affect him...I got too eager. Too greedy. It nearly cost me...no. It DID cost me. I'm just fortunate enough to know what NOT to do again. And that's put Junior in that kind of danger. No plan of conquest would be worth letting him get hurt to satisfy my greed."

Rosalina smiled softly towards him. "And this is one of those moments. Those moments which bring the suspicion of you not being nearly as evil as you claim. Your status as a father proves it wholeheartedly."

"What?! How?!"

"A good father puts his family before his pride for the times that truly matter. You wouldn't have ever apologized to Mario if you didn't feel genuinely remorseful. A true, cold-hearted villain wouldn't do something like that. Not even for family. And you've come across people like that, haven't you?"

Bowser stared at her in silence for a while. Then he growled and shook his head. "You're a complete weirdo, tryin' to reading me like a wide-open book. What makes this frustrating is that I don't know that much about you in return. I don't like being outdone like that!"

"We're just getting to know each other well, Bowser. It shouldn't be a competition."

"Yeah. It shouldn't. Because I would have won by now!"

Rosalina softly shook her head and smiled. "Very well. I suppose I can, how you say...'back up' a small distance. It is a bit unfair that I'm figuring you out so easily while you can barely understand me. So here's a thought: The next time you come over, I promise to tell you a few things about myself. Things that I'm sure you will find somewhat interesting. At least interesting enough to catch your attention."

Bowser thought about her offer, as Kamek and Kammy stood by with wandering gazes, while Polari was by Rosalina's side looking extremely anxious. With some consideration, Bowser sighs. "Alright. Fine. This wasn't a complete waste of my time, but I still feel cheated. You cheated me without actually cheating. That's a new one." Bowser stood up straight and pointed st her determinedly. "Next time, don't go talking circles around me. Next time, YOU'RE the main focus. Ya got me?!"

"Crystal." Rosalina nodded affirmatively with a soft smile.

"Good. This meat is kind of okay. I expect to have more when I come back! Ya know what, forget it. I'm not that lazy. I'll bring my own food."

"That's acceptable."

"Great, we have an agreement!" Bowser huffed as he takes the plate of meat and lifts it upward, letting all of it slide into his gaping maw without a care in the world. He then sets the plates down, then rudely and loudly belched. _Yeah...I'm definitely gonna bring more next time...more for me._

Usually, when Bowser acts in such a way, which includes such poor table manners, females would be quick to admonish him. Even right now, Kammy was giving him the stink eye. But Rosalina...she simply giggled. It was a low, more controlled giggle than either Peach or Daisy's, but it was still unmistakably a giggle. This surprised Bowser a great deal. He had thought she was simply some super mature super serious guardian of the cosmos who doesn't have time for any form of nonsense. Though her reaction to Bowser's blatant rudeness was _amusement_. Not in the condescending way, either. As in, she found Bowser genuinely funny.

Bowser mentally huffed. _Hmph. Guess she isn't so stoic after all._

Rosalina's giggling...it definitely wasn't cute. Nope. Not cute at all. Not even a little.

...Though if she were to giggle more often... he supposed he could be fair and learn to tolerate it, to some extent.

* * *

 **He's shocked that her laughter isn't condescending or critical of his rude table manners. She genuinely finds Bowser's brief lapses into complete immaturity funny, in a charming way that few others bother to take time to discover past all of his villainy.**

 **Kammy can clearly see that this is leading down a positive path, and doesn't want him messing it up. He needs to know more about Rosalina. He shall in time...while eating lots of meat.**

 **Meat is his personal power up.**


	7. The Four Loves

**This one is a short one, readers. And so will the next one. If only because a bit more focus will shift towards the characters this pairing will effect-either humorouly, seriously, or both-and how they react to it.**

 **Hope that's okay with you all.**

* * *

Kamek and Kammy were having very different thoughts on this new development that Bowser has gotten himself into. Bowser himself didn't seem to mind. Technically he _was_ thinking about the matter at hand quite deeply. Thoroughly, even. Though the direction the three of them were taking with it veers in three different directions exactly. Though they didn't really hear any of these thoughts aloud, because they mostly kept to themselves. Though only Kamek and Kammy really voiced their thoughts to one another, while Bowser went out on his own. Once he was safely out of earshot, they both actually took the time to converse with one another on the matter.

"W-W-What's going on here? When did things turn out like this?!" Kamek noted in a fit of panic, flying around the room in a bit of a frenzy, while Kammy watched him with a simple dull expression. "How did things escalate into all of this?! Our Lordiness is making even more plans to chat casually with the Protector of the Cosmos! Is this really going to become a common occurrence?! I just do not see this ending very well for him! I worry so much I-"

SLAP!

"Ow..."

"Quit yer' whinin' Kamek." Kammy huffed after her magic broom lifted itself and slapped him across the face, before immediately returning to her side. "There ain't nothin wrong with our King going out to be friendly with another woman. Ya know why Because Peach isn't his to own." She huffed at the flabbergasted look on his face, and didn't pay it any heed at all. "I don't see why you're so surprised about how I really feel about this. Because it's the truth. Naive as she is, Peach is a strong independent woman. Bowser can't simply claim her as his own just because he happens to be stronger."

Kamek shook his head rapidly, panic still spread cross his face. "K-Kammy! You can't possibly be thinking such a thing! I mean, i know what I said about him needing to take a break, but that doesn't mean he should give up on her entirely! After all, he's loved her for years! He can't just get over her at the drop of the hat, anyway!"

SLAP!

"OWWWwwwwwWWWIE!" Kamek groaned in pain from the next slap across the face, this time with the actual wooden end. That certainly hurts a lot. "Why do you need to keep hitting me, you sen-" Kammy raised her broom again, and he thought highly against completing that statement.

"You stupid ninny. Of COURSE it's not easy to get over your first love! I never said that it WAS!" Kammy snarled as she turned around and swept the floor a little with said broom, shaking her head. "Indeed. Bowser _completely_ getting over Peach may never happen. But accepting that she may be out of his reach may be the very first step into getting there. And by the looks of recent events, it seems that he definitely has considered disregarding Peach in the romantic sense."

Kamek shook his head in disbelief at her words. "Getting over her in the romantic sense? be straight with your words, woman! Simply say that Bowser will not love her anymore!"

"...You poor, naive child." Kammy shook her head. "I've lived Quite a time longer than most Magikoopas. And back in the days of my youth, I used to be _quite_ the beauty-"

"I would REALLY prefer you not go into detail on that era in your life..."

"-and along those years, I thought that if a male had never held me in his arms in a romantic sense like many of my private romance novels-"

"Emphasis on _PRIVATE_."

"-then I would never really get to feel what true love is. Though even if I'm past my prime, that doesn't stop this old girl from fantasizing~"

"FOR ALL THINGS GOOD AND KOOPA, _**STOP DOING THAT!**_ "

"But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll get to the point." Kammy said with a small chuckle, deciding that she tormented Kamek long enough. "There are Four Loves, Kamek. Four in total, at least one of the novels claim. There is love between family. Love between friends and companions. Obviously there is love between lovers. And then there is love that is completely unconditional. It's quite difficult to get the hang of that one, it really is. Mario, for one, is somehow able to handle that one fairly easily, in some circles, and he stays in a good mood. Those four loves are not easy to comprehend, and some are even harder to practice. But Bowser has recently proved that his love for family far surpasses his love for Peach. Through that, he'll learn to accept loving her as a friend. And turn that romantic love somewhere else if he truly cannot surrender it."

Kamek took in all of this information, wondering where all of this was coming from. How is Kammy so knowledgeable about these things? Even if she does have experience in the concepts, to be able to explain them in a way he can understand...it didn't seem very sensible to him at least for a moment.

"Junior is family, and Bowser loves him unconditionally. He loves his Kingdom unconditionally, even though he gets really annoyed with the denizens sometimes. As for me and you, we've been companions with Bowser for years, and he certainly loves us. But his attempts at expressing these loves towards anyone that isn't Junior or Peach tends to be one of his weaker points. But I'm sure he can learn with enough time and patience."

"He doesn't have much of the latter."

"But he can _learn_ , Kamek. He can _learn_. No matter how high up you are on the latter, you'll always find something worth learning. It's simply a matter of what, when, and how. We know the what for this particular situation. He's been placed in a situation in which he has no choice but to at least give it a try. This is a path Bowser sorely needs, even if he himself is not aware of it. And who knows? He might actually...?

"...Learn...something...?"

" _Now_ you're getting it! Good on ya, Kamek!~" Kamm lightly patted his back and began walking off with a slight chip in her step. "You'll be learnin' soon enough yourself! We'll all benefit from it!~"

"Either that, or we once again gain more prove on how senile you are..." Kamek grumbled. Kammy slowly turned around, a wicked witch's grin on her face as her hands charged with magic lightning. Kamek paled as he stepped back while sweating profusely. "Uh...sorry...that kind of slipped out and-!"

 _ **ZAP!**_

"WHHHHYYYYYY?!"

Bowser swiftly emerges from his private chambers, a vein of anger pulsing from his head as his teeth grinded together. "Keep. It. DOWN! Junior's trying to sleep!" He said as he slowly closed his door, careful not to wake his sleeping son, and was curiously plotting on how he would handle his next visit to the Comet Observatory.

Kammy sighed. "Aw...guess I can't be loud with your beatdown..." Kamek sighed with relief, until Kammy grinned madly. "I'll just have to use a silence spell. Heheheh... **hehehehe _hahahahaha...!~_** "

Kamek whimpered pathetically. THIS was the reason why the koopas learn NOT to call her senile...

* * *

 **Does Kammy have a point here? Just because Bowser has a chance to get over Princess Peach, doesn't mean that it will be _easy_. Far from it. It will be one of the hardest things he's ever had to do. Love her as a friend, and not as a love that may never be. **

**But once he does...**

 **...The payoff shall be worth the trouble. At least Kammy hopes so.**

 **Poor, poor Kamek, though. He's definitely not smart for calling her senile, but he does have a right to be concerned about Bowser. This entire thing might not even be worth the trouble...but only Bowser can decide that, can he?**

 **Until Then...**


	8. I Trust Him

**This is the one in which Rosalina is questioned by her guardian on why she's just casually letting Bowser come over at any time. A few friends help out her reasons.**

* * *

"Rosalina! I know there are a few times that I may have subtly questioned your judgement, but this time, I feel like I MUST say _something!_ " Polari said in a rushed panic as he flies around the tranquil Protector of the Cosmos, who was simply looking outward though her telescope, gazing at the stars. After a few moments of listening to her trusted advisor babble, she pulls back from her telescope and gazes at Polari with clasped hands.

"Hm? What is it, Polari...?"

"I truly, fully, _definitely, certainly, **absolutely, FULL-HEARTEDLY**_ do _**NOT**_ take comfort in the fact that you're letting KING BOWSER up into the Comet Observatory **_twice_** in a row!" Polari spoke quickly without taking much of a break for a few moments. Rosalina patiently waits for him to finish and catch his breath, exemplified by him lowering himself to the ground and lying on hy back, his eyes halfway lowered. "What I am saying, Rosalina...is that it might not be the best idea to allow Bowser onto the Comet Observatory so casually, despite knowing full well that he has a very incriminating violent streak. Why do you insist on giving him the benefit of the doubt...?"

"Because so far, ever since I began getting to know him more personally, he hasn't given me a reason not to." Rosalina said quietly as she turns towards the central area of the Comet Observatory. The portal has been accessed via Gateway Galaxy, and a few figures teleported into the area. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, and Toadsworth, entered the fray. "They should be able to help me explain why I have made my decisions, if my own seems to make you nervous."

"W-What...how will they help me understand how you're doing...?" Polari asked quietly, with a bit of curiosity, feeling unfortunately lost.

"We've come here because Rosalina requested our presence. It was a bit important to her, and to us." Peach said with a soft sigh as she was the first to step forward, and the others soon followed her. "After the incident with Bowser out of the blue...Mario told me everything about what happened in the previous universe. While I understand why he would keep that from us, I do believe that was information we deserved to know."

"Yeah. I don't really take much comfort in the fact that I've been completely erased at one point..." Luigi said in a fit of paranoia while shivering at the mere thought of it.

"Eh, we're still around, so I'm not really making much of a big deal out of it." Yoshi said while sitting on his rear and looking around for the numerous colorful Lumas.

"Regardless, we too would like to know just why Rosalina is so willing to trust Bowser while he's in her home. We're pretty much trading ideas based on our thoughts on Bowser. We do have quite a few of them to share with Rosalina, and we'll she what she thinks of it." Toadsworth explained as Peach and mario walked up first. Rosalina nodded calmly as she turned towards Mario and Peach. "And who better to offer their inputs than these two, who have known Bowser the longest?"

"Ever since we were kids, really. Even when we were kids, we were always fighting with one another, mostly when he tries to bother Peach to an endangering extent." Mario admitted while rubbing the back of his neck. "He's a stubborn King. No matter how many times Peach kindly, peacefully turns down his affections for the romantic kind of love, he always goes ballistic and tries to take her by force. I'd usually step in, and I'd always stop him." Mario groaned. "And I mean stubborn as in STUBBORN. There are times when he was melted down to the bone...he became HARDER to defeat before magic grew it right back."

"He's not joking, either. Dry Bowser is a bit scarier than regular Bowser, because regular Bowser at least has immense but finite stamina. Dry Bowser can literally go on forever..." Luigi shivered ones again. And now Dry Bowser has become a separate entity with it's own Kingdom of Dry Bones...that might become a possible problem in the future.

"That pattern has been going on for years, now." Peach added with a soft sigh. "And each and every time he tries, he only gets more and more aggressive. And with that aggressiveness, he grows more and more competent when it comes to his planning, as well as how he fights. He grows more dangerous from each and every encounter, and it progressives to very dangerous levels at times." She lightly ran her gloved hand through her hair while sighing. Most of the time he's conquering and hurting so many people, always kidnapping me and fighting Mario, all so that I would love him. I DO love him...but not the way that he loves me."

"Hm..." Rosalina hummed softly while patiently listening to them.

"The three of us were such close friends once. The moment Bowser grew to be obsessed with me, I could tell that connection was greatly damaged. He refuses to give up, he refuses to stop, and he refuses to compromises any other solution at times...it's so difficult sometimes." Peach sighed while rubbing her hands. "I sincerely do not know why we cannot simply put our hostilities aside and be friendly with one another..."

"...There is still hope for that. There is still hope for Mushroom Kingdom and the Darklands to finally see eye to eye." Rosalina offered for a bit, much to the slight confusion of everyone else.

"How can that be?! You've seen how he is, how he acts! There's no reasoning with King Bowser!" Toadsworth exclaimed in a ramble, waving his arms around in a bit of a frenzy. Rosalina, Mario, and Peach weren't really bothered that much by the outburst, Yoshi sort of dozed off after a few minutes, and Polari and Luigi jumped up only slightly. Rosalina smiled softly while turning towards the heroes. Toadsworth blinked in confusion. "L...Lady Rosalina...?"

"You've seen it for yourselves, and Bowser told me a couple bits himself." Rosalina says softly. "There is no doubt that Bowser is egotistical, selfish, greedy, and blatanty rude...these are the excuses people use to paint him as an unrepentant beast who's sole interest is complete conquest. But it's nothing like that, is it...?"

"...No. Of course not." Mario slowly admitted. "Even though Bowser causes us a lot of headaches and usually follows through on his threats...he's nowhere near as bad as he tries to make himself out as. He's helped us save the world as many times as he tried to take over it. King K. Rool, Smithy, Fawful, Dark Bowser, Count Bleck, Dimentio, and Antasma...all of them have tried to do something that goes far beyond conquest, and that is a very quick friendship killer for him. Usually we team up so we can defeat some of them, while he completely betrayed Antasma before he would do the same. No one really saw that one coming." Mario explained. "Regardless of how bad he is, he's always standing up to those who are worse, whether for his own benefit or for others."

"Peach even made him a cake after he defeated Dark Bowser!" Yoshi woke up for a few moments to comment on this, shaking his head and yawning.

"And it's hard to admit...but every time we find ourselves in his kingdom, his subjects are always speaking positively of him." Luigi adds in with a raised hand. "He's not very tolerant of failure, but he shows mercy and forgiveness towards them and treats them very fairly. A lot of accessories in the kingdom appeal a lot to their needs and desires when he finds himself in a better mood than usual. They admire him for his conviction and his fair treatment of them. And not only that, but he shows respect for us despite being rivals. He even recently began calling me by _name!_ " He jumped slightly. "He's been calling me green stache for years, so you have NO idea how good that felt. I'll take acknowledgement wherever I can get it!~"

"He shows kindness and respect to his people, just like I do." Peach said while opening her eyes with a sad smile. "I simply wish he would channel that leadership into a more positive dirtection...but he insist on conquest..."

Rosalina slowly smiled as she gently clasped her hands again. "There you have it, Polari. Bowser has many faults, but he has positives as well. He is a just ruler, if a bit mischeivous about it. He shows respect for his long-time enemies because of their history, not above throwing away his pride to work with them against a common enemy. He values the world he wishes to rule, and does not wish to see it destroyed. He is also not above admitting when he is wrong when there are particularly devastating consequences. Especially lying to Junior about his mother, and his failed attempt to conquering the entire universe resulted in it's premature destruction due to carelessness and greed. He's capable of showing genuine remorese for when he goes too far."

"Rosalina...?" Polari said quietly.

"And the only thing that makes him more furious than losing to Mario, more furious than losing at contests, even the smallest ones, more furious than other villains trying to take center stage due to his ego...all of them pale in comparison when someone or something harms his son. He may not be the most responsible parent, but based on what he's said and how he's acted about it, I will never say that he is a _terrible_ parent." Rosalina says sincerely. "Without a doubt, being a genuinely caring father to Junior is his most redeeming trait."

"And...these things...were enough to convince you...?" Polari said while spinning in slight confusion.

"With all of those things in mind, I have already gained a mixed opinion of him, weighing more on the positive side. And considering that he's visited the Comet Observatory twice and has left it without causing a single bit of harm to it or anyone inside..." Rosalina smiled softly. "I can safely say...that I trust him."

Toadsworth and Polari's eyes widened comically. "Trust...?! _TRUST...?! **KING BOWSER?!** _Why in the world would you **_ever_** trust King Bowser?! Even after all he's done to you-!"

"Bowser is selfish, prideful, tempermental, hot-blooded, and occasionally immature...but he is not _insane_. It's why Mario defeating him only becomes more and more difficult. He will not cause unneccessary destruction unless he believes it will further his own purposes. Mindless, meaningless destruction simply for destruction's sake, is not something he enjoys. He has nothing to gain from me aside from knowing more about me. Attacking Comet Observatory will do nothing for him, so he will leave it be."

"And...you're seriously basing trust in Bowser on this sole fact, m'lady...?" Toadsworth blinked owlishly.

Rosalina turned towards them and says the following. "Bowser may see himself as an evil emperor, but he still has standards he never fails to follow. Be honest...would you _really_ want to be around someone as incredibly powerful, gradually competent, and unrelentingly persistent as Bowser without his moral limitations?"

There was an extended, fearful silence at that question. That was all Rosalina needed.

"Bowser, even in acts of villainy, never goes any farther than necessary in order to achieve victory. And when he DOES go too far-like the aforementioned mother incident and universal destruction-he is very clearly remorseful for it, and may even apologize afterwards. He can't stand other villains who don't have standards, those who would choose complete destruction over ruling everything."

Another small silence follows. Peach and Mario eventually nodded in agreement. Luigi was a bit more hesitant, but agreed. Yoshi was the most casual about it. Toadsworth was still the most shaken, though he stayed neutral on the issue. As for Polari...

"Lady Rosalina...are these really all it takes for Bowser to be trusted by you...?"

"I will admit, some of these explanations may not provide the best reasons in the world to trust King Bowser." Rosalina turns towards Polari with an understanding nod. "However, I also believe in an old saying that people down in the Mushroom World tend to say. I believe it goes like this...'better than nothing'?" She finishes with a small and knowing smile, as she leaves the central hub to further prepare for Bowser's next visit.

...At that last statement, even Toadsworth and Polari agreed with her, to an extent.

* * *

 **The next chapter highlights the THIRD visit...and a bit of conflict. But not from a very expected place, nor from a very expected person, and for an even less expected reason.**

 **Expect the unexpected, perhaps...?**

 **Until next time!**


	9. The Third Meeting

**The Third Visit! Along with a guest to tag along! Things go rather well...and then we remember why Rosalina's travels across the cosmos isn't alwways easy...**

* * *

Junior has definitely noticed a familiar pattern when it came to his father over the course of the month. His father, Bowser, has been rather somber for a long while, not really knowing where the attitude shift was coming from. It was pretty obvious that something was very different about how he was acting. He didn't really boast as much as before, and he seemed to be treating his men with a bit more kindness than usual. Here's to say that he's still quite temperamental when it came to some bouts of foolishness from them, which lead to them making some rather simple mistakes that even Bowser was able to see through at first glance, mistakes that should have been reevaluated before they were even made. Though they were eventually forgiven.

Though a major factor that seemed to mostly drive Bowser's subtle change in direction would be that he was spending much more time with Junior. There's no way that the Koopa Prince was at all displeased with this development, he was actually rather glad for it. Bowser tucked him in at night and told him stories, he sits and talks with him for a much longer period of time during breakfast, personally prepared his lunch and dinner, and even plays with him much more while they were outside. Junior appreciated all of this and more, but he wondered what was with the sudden change. That was when he noticed something rather odd.

He hasn't gone on a siege against the Mushroom Kingdom in a very long time. Nor has he made any kind of attempt to capture the likes Princess Peach. Overall, aside from a nreif and brutal fight ith Mario, he has mostly left alone. Junior was confused as to why, as well as many of his subordinates. Though aside from maybe a deeply worried Kamek, no one pushed on the issue any farther than it needed to be pressed. And as confused and worried as Junior was, he didn't really question it either. The one thing he was able to gather from most of this is that Bowser was much calmer than he used to be. Though there was a hidden sense of frustration behind his eyes, but he didn't know what could be causing that.

All that mattered was that he had a majority of his father's attention now. And he was more than willing to accept it for however long it may or may not last. Though he had a feeling that it may very well last a long while regardless, and he was very much okay with that being the case, and hoped that it would stay around for a long while as well. Though he surely couldn't deny that, as much as he welcomed his father's slight change of pace in certain ways, it was still strange to experience from his certain perspective. He wondered what may have caused it, and why the effects were as heavy as they seemed to be. It was fine, he didn't require answers right from the gate.

Though it seemed that whether he would be seeking the answers sooner or not, it looked like he would be getting _some_ sort of explanation in the form of Bowser's next course of action. And rather unexpectedly, it was for a rathervery simple yet complex reason. Easy for him to understand the basics, yet it would be very complex for him to understand as a whole. It would be revealed to him quite tellingly as he realizes exactly what his father has been doing, even though he doesn't really know the full story. Bowser found it best he doesn't know the full story anyway, as he was still having trouble fully processing the guilt that dug in his heart, and hid it away under grand affections for his son.

Junior was getting up for yet another day of being Kooppa Prince, trying to be rather grand and incredibly awesome like his father. He got out of bed all on his own and exited the room with a rather loud yawn, scratching under his chin while lightly rubbing his cheeks, as he headed towards the kitchen. He entered it as if he owned the place-which he kind of did-and found that there was plenty of breakfast prepared for him again, this time from the kindness that seemed to reside somewhere in Kammy's heart. The sight certainly made him smile a bit while lightly drooling from hunger; blueberry muffins, chocolate milk, even more bacon and eggs, and again, a tall glass of orange juice. A bit repetitive on the latter parts, but that wasn't always a bad thing. He plops down in a nearby chair and wasted no time at all as he began to eat.

Kammy was busy cleaning the dishes that she used to make said breakfast for him. Well, not that busy, as all she did was snap her fingers and said dishes began cleaning themselves while surrounded by glowing colorful shapes. Her broom was also sweeping the floor all on it's own while she was simply cleaning her glasses of a bit of dirt, before she put tem bac on and was now able to see Junior a bit more clearly, and placed her paws on her hips.

She's had a bit of a discussion with Bowser and Kamek beforehand. Apparently it falls to her to break what was going on to Junior, and she was well-aware of why. Whether it'd be easy or difficult to hear, she wasn't very hesitant in telling them straight and speaking hoonestly. She was very adept at being deceitful, but when she needs to speak the truth, she doesn't dawdle; she gets it over with and spares a bit of pain for everyone else in the long run. With this in mind, Kammy moves towards Junior and promptly takes a seat next to him as he was still eating.

"Junior. There is something that I need to tell you. And depending on how you personally feel about the overall picture of this, it may be good or bad news for you." Kammy began, seeing Junior messily and happily devour a few of the blueberry muffins before him. The sight made her inwardly chuckle as well as sigh. _He acts much like his father when he was his age...yet Junior is considerably kinder in some aspects. That's understandable, as he's still trying to carve his own identity..._

Junior blinked owlishly at Kammy's rather suspicious wording, swallowing his muffins while drinking a bit of orange juice. "What do you mean, Kammy? What has Papa been doing...?"

"You see, your father has been seeing another woman. And that woman is Rosalina." She said rather bluntly while pushing her glasses up.

...Yeah. When it comes to the truth, subtlety isn't exactly Kammy's strongsuit. Quite the opposite.

Junior blinked a little as he tilted his head. "Who's Rosalina? And why has Papa been visiting her so much, if she's the one he's always disappearing to go and see?"

"You see...Rosalina is a pretty important figure in the universe. You can acually call her it's guardian." Kammy says while watching Junior dig into his eggs and bacon. "And as the guardian of the cosmos, she's trying to make sure that Bowser is safe enough to allow to wander around on his own. You and your father have been pretty naughty people, and so have I. So Bowser's ding what he can to make sure that he can reason with her and make sure she doesn't see us as incredibly personal enemies. So that she doesn't have much of a reason to try and wipe him out. Plus.,..he needed a bit f a break from Princess Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom anyway."

"Seriously, Dad's been doing all that? But-"

"He's not taking any chances. His pride is not worth your safety." _At the very least, not anymore..._

Junior seemed a bit content by this, for the moment anyway, and nodded as he quickly finishes the rest of his breakfast, placing the plates down. "So...why tell me this? Is Dad gonna take me with him this time?"

"That's exactly what he plans to do, actually. He trusts you greatly, young one. He wants to introduce you to her so that he can feel a bit more comofortable letting you in on this secret." Kammy says while snapping her fingers as the remaining dishes were brought to the sink and again begain washing thermselves. "So, are you interested?"

Junior pondered his options for a moment. It would be a very intruiging experience to meet the person who caught his father's attention so firmly. He then slowly but surely nods. "Yeah, sure! I'll definitely go!"

"Good. But first..." Kammy nodded while she grabbed a napkin and began gingerly wiping Junior's cheeks. She was met with immediate annoyance.

"Kammy..."

"It's your own fault fr eating so messily. Someone's gotta clean your mouth because you sometimes forget!" Kammy said without flinching. "Now hold still." She ordered slightly as she covered her paw in a coating of shielding and lightly patted Junior's back.

"What are you do- _burp!_ "

...

"...Are you feeling better?" Junior nodded sheepishly, blushing brightly. Kammy smiled as she sets him down and kissed his cheek. "Good. Now run along and brush your hair. Doesn't matter how small it is, brushing is important.

"Y-Yes ma'am..."

* * *

Rosalina has been quite busy lately. Both with making sure that nothing in the cosmos was going awry without her watchful eye, and that she was properly prepared for when Bowser comes on his third visit in a row. She thught back to the last one and the impact that it had; it wasquite clear that Kammy really liked her, and that Kamek was too afraid to like her or hate her. It was rather odd, she didn't really see herself as a scary individual, so she was just a bit confused by how he could act and speak in such a way. her overall great power shouldn't have mattered in the slightest. SHe was a rather polite, kindk, and patient individual. At least she believes so.

She rubbed her chin and tilted her head a bit. Perhaps it's because of those things that Kamek might feel incredibly wary of her. In the Darklands, strong displays of power and dominance are what made a few things stable and recognizable. It wasn't a system she was really in agree with, but she won't deny that it was theirs to uphold, so she wouldn't criticize any of them for it. She just wondered if bowser had better ways to run his Kingdom aside from classes of strongest to weakest. Things could have been much better, she'd like to believe.

Regardless. she's the one who welcomed Bowser into her home and he hasn't done anything to dissuade that trust she placed in him. So she wouldn't really do anything to dissaude his own trust in her, even though he has plenty of methods and openings to precisely exploit that trust for his own selfish gain. But not only was he not that stupid or cruel to betray someone he genuinely trusts, but he was also very honest in saying that he wouldn't ever do such a thing. Plus none of that would benefit him in the slightest. If he ever does evil, it always has a purpose. He's never evil just for the sake of it. At least, that's what he claims. And she's choosing to believe him at her own peirl, as her trusted aide has consistently worried about on many levels. But she felt it. her trust in him was not misplaced in the slightest. Unlike most villains that mario has come up against, Bowser has a sense of honor, even if it does tend to get a bit dodgy at times. He's much more complicated than even he believes.

And his complexity was yet another major reason why Rosalina believes that Bowser isn't nearly as bad as he believes himself to be, even though his actions and words do have high chances of proving otherwise. He was not a mindless beast bent on causing chaos and ruling everything, he has a heart and soul just like everyone else. Sometimes people forget about those details.

After some time has passed, Rosalina could hear the distinct roar of an airship arriving towards the Comet Observatory. She opened her eyes and turned towards the sound with a soft smile on her face. Bowser was here again. Hopefully they could speak a bit more...she then chuckled while slightly covering her mouth. _Of course. I promised that I would tell more about myself to him. I usually don't let important details like that slip my mind._ She thought patiently while turning towards the food she had prepared for him, a cheek resting in her palm. Hopefully this will be enough; he certainly had the stomach of a monster.

Around the Comet Observatory entrance, Bowser, Junior, Kammy, and Kamek were descending from their airship and landing on the platform below them. Polari was still legitmately scared of Bowser, and was in even more of an uneasy state of mind once he saw that his son was here. Though after two visits and not causing any serious amount of trouble, the Lumas have slightly relaxed around Bowser. Not enough to not keep their distance, but enough to stop hiding and curiously watch him from afar. Bowser huffed at their curious eyes.

Bowser and Junir soon reached the kitchen, seeing all of the food prepared, Bowser didn't waste any time taking some for himself and munching on it, before turning to look at Rosalina with a raised eyebrow. "Well?"

"Straight to business, hm? Very well." Rosalina chuckled as she sits within her own chair and watches both Bowser and Junior. "You've brought your son along this time?"

 _She already knows who I am...?_ Junior wondered, very much surprised.

"I figured it'd be best. If you're gonna talk abbout who you are, it's only fair that he's here to hear it as well."

"That's fair, I suppose." Rosalina nodded softly as she gazed towards the warm fire she recently used to help her cook. "Alight. I suppose this time we shall talk more about me." She closed her eyes and sighed. "Kamek fears me because of my overwhelming power. And they can be quite diverse. Those powers include telekinesis, creation of shooting stars, gravity manipulation, teleportation, the creation of Launch Stars, force-field manipulation...hologram projection, size alteration..."

 _"And telepathy."_

"Woah! Woah woah woah!" Bowser suddenly stood up, shaking his head and pointing at her with comical white eyes and grinding teeth. "Okay, here's a ground rule, DON'T do that! I'd rather not have anyone talkin' inside my head! It's REALLY weird! Ya got that?!"

"Crystal." Rosalina said with an amused smile while tilting her head to the side. "I do understand that it is a bit of an invasion of privacy when I don't have someone's consent to do so. Bu I did not expect you to be so jumpy when I demonstrated it."

"Yeah, well maybe a bit of a warning MIGHT allow me to allow you to do that..." Bowser huffed while folding his arms, though on the inside he was reeling a bit. _That's crazy. She has all of those powers, yet I haven't seen her use even a fraction of them when she was helping save those Sprixies. She...was holding BACK?! Though she can change her size...at least that's one power we have in common. Wait...why would I want to know if we have anything in common...?_

"I try not to exert more power than necessary when it comes to handling certain situations." Rosalina said, which made Bowser jump in shock once again. Rosalina chuckled, covering her mouth. "My apologies. That time it was an accident."

"Darn it, woman! That wasn't funny! STAY OUTTA MY HEAD! Bowser's cranium is off-limits! Understand?!"

"Absolutely." Rosalina nodded with a soft smile, while Bowser snarle d while a vein pulsed from his head. She heard him mentally mumble _cheeky space woman_ for a brief moment before she decided to stop for real. She then cleared her throat as she clasped her hands. "Onto more serious matters about me...I've been the mother of the Lumas for years. Ever since I was a little girl who comforted a Luma who lost their mother. I told the Lumas around me bedtime stories and when it calls for it, they usually battle by my side. Polari is my most trusted advisor, and a Luma named Lubba holds me at high-esteem because of how well and how tenderly I cared for them."

"Hm..so you've been looking after these little guys for a while..." Bowser said while rubbing his chin with one paw and biting into meat with his other paw. Junior was in the corner while eating his own plate of meat while listening intently to their conversation. "So, have you ever had to defend the galaxy against enemies that might have threatened space in some way or another?"

"There have been plenty that I've had to defend myself against when they've come my way. One particularly dangerous threat to the universe-that didn't include you of course-were a menacing alien race known as the Shroobs."

"...Wait a minute...the Shroobs?!" Bowser's eyes widened. "YOU tussled with the Shroobs before?!"

"The one known as Princess Shroob has tried attacking numerous star systems and planets that I happened to be around at the time...I properly showed her and her sister how much I tolerated that. Not at all." Rosalina said softly. "I've been told that the Shroobs have then plagued the Mushroom World. Had I known, I would have broken my tradition sooner so I could help defend against them. But luckily the Mario Bros were there to help. Past and Present. And you and your past self...you weren't that helpful with the situation, were you...?"

"...I'd rather not relive that memory." Bowser looked to the side in embarrassment. "...So all in all...you're pretty tough. Very powerful."

"I suppose that I am..." Rosalina nodded softly with her eyes closed. Though after a few moments, her eyes opened as she stood up and looked outside. "...Something is going to interrupt us in a moment..."

Bowser raised an eyebrow, and he noticed that some of the Lumas began hiding away in fits of fright. He narrowed his eyes as he sets his food down and stands up. "What the heck was that about...?"

 _ **CRASH!**_

"Goodness me, HELP!" Polari shouted outside as a powerful roar could be heard soon after. Bowser and Rosalina immediately went outside to see what was going on. They were met with surprise as powerful flames burst throughout the Comet Observatory, Lumas were flying around in a panic, and burning certain trees down. Bowser could recognize the roaring, flaming beast before him. As did Rosalina.

"...Fiery Dino Pirahna...?" Bowser narrowed his eyes. Junior was being hidden by Kamek and Kammy, while Polari was struggling in the grasp of the beast, until he was tossed up and unceremoniously swallowed.

"Polari...!" Rosalina's eyes widened slightly, her mouth covered. Bowser turned and watched her face turn into grave amounts of concern. The entirety that he's known her, she's always kept her calm, even around him. But now that her Lumas have been endangered, she's genuinely distressed and just slightly panicked, but it's definitely there.

...Bowser didn't like that look on her face. And it built up a stong desire to beat up the being that caused it. He gently stepped forward while pushing Rosalina behind her.

"I know I'm the guest and you're the host...but lemme take care of this one for ya." Rosalina was briefly surprised by this, as he clenched his fists while glaring up at Fiery Dino Pirahna, who roared menacingly towards Bowser, who didn't flinch in the slightest. He then cracked his knuckles. "Alrighty then, Dino Plant. You've got two choices. You either spit out that Luma willingly, or I beat the snot outta ya until you eventually cough him up anyway." It roars once again, it's tail lighting on fire, along with it's head.

Bowser simply grins.

"So we're doin' this the hard way...good. I could use the workout."

* * *

 **Bowser sees something distressing someone he's peacefully interacting with. He doesn't like that. So he's gonna go punch it.**

 **Until next time.**


	10. A Showing Of Progress

**The chapter in which Bowser beats on a giant flaming flower monster, Junior warms up to Rosalina, and the visit ends with a much warmer note than usual, which shares promise for the future. Short as it may be, it nonetheless bookmarks a rather significant jump of progress for the two of them.**

* * *

Rosalina will humbly admit that she's very distressed right now. But to her great credit, which Bowser is admittedly impressed by, she is still mostly keeping her cool and not outwardly panicking. Her expression definitely shows how shocked and worried she is, but for the most part, she's very calm despite the circumstances of a giant flaming plant threatening her observatory and the Lumas aboard it. Obviously her amusement towards this event is otherwise utterly minimal, and she would have directly intervened and dealt with it and save Polari.

But she stayed back. Bowser simply told her to sit back and watch him do those things himself. She had no idea what he had to gain from this, but then she remembered that he is capable of unselfish acts if it's something he can get behind. Through these times, Bowser has been trying to learn more from her, and she can't focus on that if she's busy worrying about her home and the Lumas. SO the solution was actually pretty simple; get rid of the distraction as soon as he could.

He seemed a bit too eager about this though, as he grinned and cracked his knuckles a few times before gazing directly towards Fiery Dino Piranha. "Alright then, flame weed. You're interrupting important business of mine. The business of a King is serious business, so you're obviously gonna pay for that." Fiery Dino Piranha paid that no heed, however; a breath of flames was the only response he found worthy of Bowser, as he spun his tail around to smash into the King Koopa. Unfortunately for him, Bowser caught it easily enough, not even being pushed back that much. "Ha! That was weak! Are you really trying to be some semblance of a threat? You're pathetic!~"

Rosalina blinked a bit at his high eagerness to fight the giant flaming plant. He does seem intent on protecting the Lumas and rescuing Polari, so she supposed that this time, she would stay out of the way for the time being and hope that Bowser doesn't cause too much damage, because avoiding any damage at all just wasn't going to work. He was destructive like that, but he was definitely trying his best to pull his punches to avoid _too_ much damage.

Rosalina soon blinked as she felt the bottom of her gown being pulled on. She soon looked down to the one responsible, and noticed that Junior was the one pulling on her gown, and he was staring into her eyes. "Oh. Junior."

"You don't have to worry at all. Dad's got this covered, no sweat!" Junior said confidently. Rosalina blinked a bit, though she did smile a bit at how confident he was in his father's strength. It was true, she didn't really expect Bowser to lose at all, since he's fought so much worse than a mere Fiery Dino Piranha. Still, she was worried about Polari. Junior tilted his head and pulled back a bit. "Hey, s you're the one that Dad's been constantly visiting."

"Um...yes." Rosalina blinked softly.

"Oooohhh...you're really tall." Junior pointed out with a childish blink.

"Oh. Um...yes. I am quite tall."

"Hm..." Junior tilted his head while holding out his paw. Rosalina wondered what he was doing, but she complies with the silent request and holds his paw. He gently holds onto her hand and tilted his head once again. "You're much prettier than I thought you'd be. Really pretty. Pretty like Princess Peach."

"Am I now...?" Rosalina thought with slight amusement. There was once upon a time, in which Junior referred to Peach as 'Mama' instead of simply Princess. The complications involving the actual truth had temporarily put a dent in his relationship with his father, and luckily for Bowser, Junior forgave him. It was significant in that Bowser completely threw aside his pride in order to fully and genuinely apologizing to his beloved son for lying for something so sensitive and important.

"Uhuh. I don't think I've ever seen you before, though. You're completely new to me, and yet you do feel a bit familiar..." Junior wondered. "Have we met before...?"

Rosalina smiled slightly, though it also hid a bit of sadness behind it. "In a way, we have met before. But you don't remember much about me. You could say that...we didn't really get along all that well when we first met. You could even say that we might have been enemies."

"Really? But...you look really nice. Why would we be enemies with each other? You don't seem like a bad person, why would we be fighting onr another?" Junior aked, genuinely confused by her words. Of course, she remembers that Junior also atangonized her simply because he was helping his father with his overall. Junior was still young, there was nothing t fault him for, especially when he just doing what his father asks of him and is trying to make him proud. There's nothing to blame him for, and yet she knew that if she told him, the guilt would be even more immense. And he wouldn't be able to handle it nearly as well as hs father because of the fact that he is still a child. So for his sake, she'll have to keep quiet about it. She doesn't enjoy deception, and prefers not to indulge in it. However, this is one of those few instances where it would be better that Junior didn't know. Whether Bowser agrees is his own decision to make.

Rosalina smiles softly and gently rubbed his head. "It was simply...a conflict of interests. It was nothing too personal, I assure you, young one. We are certainly not enemies anymore, we have no reason to be."

"Oh. I guess, that's pretty good. I don;t have any reason to not like you..." Junior said honestly as he lightly smiled at her touch. He felt rather nice and calm around her, she was alright with him. He then looks back towards the Fiery Dino Piranha fighting with unior, and beamed with pride. "You've got nothing to worry about, Papa's gonna give that thing a super smackdown and give your star buddy back!~"

"I...I see." Rosalina smiles softly, though she ws still just a bit worried about the Lumas, and Polari.

Bowser grinned smugly as the Fiery Dino Piranha breathed a ball of fire into the Koopa King's face. it did end up scorching his face just a bit, but the most that did was irritate him. And even with that slight irritation, it only lasted a moment. He grinned quite madly as he glares at the enemy before him.

"Hehehe. That actually stung a bit. Is it me, or have you actually gotten a little bit stronger? Not that it would have mattered much." Bowser grinned. "Regardless, that wasn'tto bad a fireball. Unfortunately for you, you're dealing with a pro when it comes to fire-breathing. Wanna see what I mean?~" He taunted as he takes a deep breah and blasts a stream of fire right into the Piranha's face, making it scream out in pain and step back a few feet. Though since it's leafy arms weren't that big, he couldn't even reach out and out them out. Though in a moment of stupidity, he remembered that he was already made of fire. So with a shake of his head, he immediately shook his head and roared loudly. "Ah. Finally realized that your situation isn't nearly as bad as it seems when it's only fire you're dealing with..."

Fiery Dino Piranha immediately roars in outrage as he breathes fire of his own once again. Bowser smirked as he opened his maw, and inhaling nearly all of the flames headed his way, rendering it useless. Bowser clenched his fist. "Now lemme ask ya again. Are ya willin' to spit out the Luma yet, or do you want to continue? I do advise against it, because you're not doing so well as it is."The creature refused to sumbit to surrender. Bowser shook his head with a sigh. "Still choosin' to defy a King? Very well then. I might as well get rougher with you." At this, he clenched his fist and jumped towards the creature and pucnhes him right in his face, knocking him on his back. He grinned again and glared at him. "Alright, fine. If you won't cough up the geezeer Luma willingly, then I'm just gonna force it outta ya. Hope he can take a bit of pressure!" Bowser jumped up with a mighty leap as the Fiery Dino Piranha was still down. He then withdrew into his shell, and hurtled down onto the plant monster, smashing him right in his belly. The immense pressure from the blow was more than enough for the creature to cough out Polari, who was covered drool.

"Oh!" Rosalina gasped as she held her hands out to catch Polari safely in her paws. She didn't mind the drool at all, so long as he was alright. Polari, however, looked quite bothered by his experience, shaking rather violently. She sighed in relief as she smiles at the slightly traumatized Luma. "Thank goodness you're alright, Polari. How are you feeling?"

"I...experienced the insides of a Fiery Dino Piranha...it was boiling hot...and it was so suffocating..." Ploari said, clearly shaken by what's happened, shivering in Rosalina's arms. "I...I would rather I never have to experience such an uncomfortable experience such as that ever again, My Lady...and I quite mean, never again..."

"Ah quit your blubbering, will ya? You're alright, be glad for that!" Bowser muttered with irritation, as he turned towards Fiery Dino Piranha. "As for you..." He picked the creature up by the tail, and then tossed him up in the air. Then he pulled his paw back and clenched it tight. "TAKE A HIKE YOU OVERGROWN FIRE WEED!" He punhed the large fire creature hard in the head, sending him flying far into space, until he disappeared into a twinkling star. Bowser grinned as he relaxed a bit and stretched his arms. "There, and good riddance. Don't bother the Space Princess again, or I won't be going so easy on you."

"Haha! You sure showed that puny plant who's boss, Papa!~" Junir cheered, jumping up high in the air for a few moments and pumping his fists.

"Yeah, I sure did! But, uh..." Bowser rubbed his neck while loking around for a bit. "It seems that I've trashed a bit of the place in the process..."

"It's no trouble, Bowser. It's all easily fixed when given enough time and energy." Rosalina said as she gently releases Polari while Junior returns to Bowser's side. "But, it seems that I will be taking quite a bit of time in order to comfort and reassure the Lumas here. So...I'm afraid that this visit will have to end early. Do forgive me for that."

"Nah, don't you worry about that. It wasn't your fault oor anything like that." Bowser waved off while folding his arms in a bit of irritation. "Once again, I've been kept away from getting most of what I've wanted from you, which is more information. But now we've gotta wait even longer for all of that stuff, and it's seriously getting on my nerves."

"There's no need to be angry." Rosalina smiles softly. "You've helped protect the Lumas and the Observatory. And for that, we all thank you for doing so. In return...I do promise that I'll tell you much more, and you tell me more as well. And this time...I'll go visit _you_ next time. How does that sound? That way, you won't have to exert yourself by coming all the way into space just to see me. I can simply teleport to you."

"Wow, saves me a lot of trouble! That's a lot less effort for me to put out just to visit somebody. Thanks Space Princess!" Bowser laughed haughtily. Polari sighed a bit. The King was strong, he was menacing, and he was deadly...but he was also pretty lazy when he can afford to be. "Alright then, I guess we'll be off. You'd better not forget that you're coming to ME, this time. I ain't comin' to get you, so you'd better not keep me waiting." Bowser stretched his arms as he began making his way back to the teleporter. "Alright son. We're done here. Let's go home and try to burn the rest of the day with something like kart racing."

"Kart Racing!~" Junior hopped with glee as he began following his dear father to the teleporter, so they can actually make thei way home. "Bye pretty Rosalina!~"

 _Pretty...hmph._ Bowser smirked in slight amusement.

"Wait. Bowser." Rosalina briefly stopped him before he could fully leave. Bowser hummed a bit while raising an eyebrow towards her. Rosalina slowly walked up to him, and looked up towards him. She lightly raised herself up and kissed his cheek. Bowser's eyes widened comically at this. She pulled herself back and clasped her hands with a nod. "Thank you for helping us, Bowser. I do indeed mean it. I'm grateful fr your cmpany, and I'm grateful for your help." She tilted her head and flashed a bright smile. "And more than that, I do look forward to seeing you and your son again. I do admit, these interactions...they're becoming quite fun. Aside from a few hiccups of course, but we'll work around those as we go along. So do get some proper rest and I'll see you next time. Okay?"

"...Um...sure. I guess...whatever..." Bowser mumbled softly as he turned his back on her. There was no wayhe would allow her to see the blush on his face. He briefly scooped up Junior and went for the teleporter, being sure that the others would take the airship home. It appears that he was feeling far too hasty and lazy to ake his airship, and would be leaving the others to park it for him.

Rosalina smiles softly as she watches them leave. Polari floated beside him with a bit of worry. "Rosalina...you actually...are you sure you wish to continue this?"

"Absolutely." Rosalina nods calmly while patting his head. She would soon begin cleaning up the observatory and calming her beloved Lumas.

 _I'm more sure than ever. Bowser can boast all he wishes, but in the very end, he really isn't as bad as he tries to be. I'm looking forward to seeing him again._

And she knew that Bowser would be a bit too prideful to admit it...but she was sure he was looking forward to their next interaction too.

* * *

 **Oh. _Oh._ Rosalina gave our Koopa King a bit of a cheek peck as thanks for genuinely helping her out! And Junior is beginning to like her a bit! Quite nice!~**

 **Wonder what misadventures they'll have next after Bowser was a bit shellshocked by her method of thanks. Heh. Bad puns. So clever. Probably.**

 **Oh, and to answer the comments wonders, the Koopalings will definitely be in the next chapter. The mischief will truly begin there, and Rosalina may just stroll light through it like the cool-headed Princess she is. Still, she might let out a giggle or two.**

 **Until next time, readers!~**


	11. Thought Process and Magic Projections

**The chapter in which Bowser tries to process what happened, while someone makes a call via magic projection. Bowser is quite dumbfounded by Rosalina's open kindness towards her, despite what he's done to her in the past, she bears no grudge, and is clearly happy he spends time with her and helped save her Lumas. A few others have taken notice of this, and WILL comment on it.**

 **Let's check that out.~**

* * *

Bowser was sitting at home within his castle. He was lying on his stomach while on his bed. It was pretty early in the morning, and he had already eaten most of his breakfast that lied around him in dirty dishes, which Koopas and Goombas were in the process of being taken away to be thoroughly cleaned for next time. Of course, Bowser being Bowser, his breakfast added up to the amount of a small feast. Though once he had his fill, he lies on his bed again while considering what had happened a few days ago. He had committed his third visit of Rosalina, and he admitted that it had been a rather positive experience, given how Junior already seemed to like her to some extent. They were having quite a bit of fun simply talking and spending time with one another, while getting to know one another better.

And he discovered that she was strong. Significantly stronger than Peach ever was or could be. Not to say Peach was weak; Rosalina was simply far above her in terms of power and experience. And he admitted that she carried with her a much more mature air to her than Peach; of course this was because she was much older than either than them, yet didn't look the part. It was amazing how beautiful she looked despite-

Bowser blinked and shook his head. _Okay, whoa! Whoooooaaaa whoa! Whoawhoawhoawhoawhoawhoa...where did THAT come from, and WHY?_ He stopped his thoughts where they were and tried to shake them off as thoroughly as he could. _Since when did I ever think that the woman was beautiful? I mean, she really is easy on the eyes, but me actually acknowledging it seems a bit unlike me. Usually I'm only thinking beautiful when I turn to Peach. Or myself in the mirror. Either way, it's weird._ He frowned while rubbing his paw through his hair. _Why would I actively be thinking this about her...?_

 _Thank you for helping us, Bowser. I do indeed mean it. I'm grateful for your company, and I'm grateful for your help. And more than that, I do look forward to seeing you and your son again. I do admit, these interactions...they're becoming quite fun._

She said all of these kind words and with the softest of grace and sincerity. _After_ she kissed his cheek and was clearly intent and may have even enjoyed his reaction. His reaction chalked up to him trying to play it off as if it didn't greatly catch him off-guard, though it was likely that she knew that he was embarrassed by what she did. He clearly didn't expect it, which made his reaction all the more amusing to her. She didn't laugh, but she clearly took delight in him trying to hide his shock and embarrassment with an uncaring demeanor. She might have even thought it to be adorable.

...That woman was messing with his head. It wasn't infallible on a literal level, as she demonstrated being capable of telepathy. Other villains did take advantage of him and his personal weaknesses...he hated that quite a bit.

But Rosalina wasn't a villain. She was a cosmic guardian who was more than happy and capable of having civil conversations with him, and thanking him for saving her Lumas. It did make him feel appreciated, but the kiss to his cheek caught him greatly off-guard.

He raised to the cheek she kissed, gently caressing it, and a small blush covering both cheeks. He growled in embarrassment while shaking his head. "This is ridiculous..."

 _"DADDY!~"_

"OH SWEET STAR SPIRITS!" Bowser jumped a bit before falling out of bed and on his head. He groaned a bit in annoyance as he rubbed his head and looked up towards the wall where he heard the voice. It was the Koopaling, Wendy. She appeared as a magic projection that matched her color via her wand. She wasn't the only one; Ludwig's projection was there as well. The rest of the Koopalings were absent from this, however. He sighed while shaking his head. "Oh, it's just you lot. Did you have to surprise me like that instead of simply giving me a bit of a warning?"

 _"We haven't the time for such pleasantries, Father. We simply have something to ask of you."_ Ludwig stated rather calmly, compared to Wendy's outburst. _"Junior told us something that warrants our attention."_

"What does that mean?" Bowser asked a bit lazily, scratching the back of his head with one paw and scratching his belly with the other, yawning a bit.

 _"We've noticed that you've been pretty absent from the Kingdom for long period s of time. We were confused since your hostilities with the Mushroom Kingdom has been on the decline ever since those disappearances happened. We were concerned, so we were about to see if you were alright much sooner."_ Ludwig explained. _"But then Junior and Kammy informed us of what you were doing, which helped ease our concerns."_

"Yeah...?"

 _"Daddy, he's talking about your interactions with the woman known as 'Rosalina'. And I must say...why didn't you tell me about this?!"_ Wendy exclaimed with an excited shout, lightly jumping in place. _"I mean, I could have TOTALLY helped you out with knowing what to say to her and how to say it. This is the first time you've shown such deep interest in any woman that isn't Princess Peach. That's something that DEFINITELY got our attention, and we won't be letting it go any time soon!~"_

Bowser sighed as he folded his arms and huffed. "Hmph. Why should it rile you two up in any way? I'm simply talking to another woman who caught my interest. There isn't anything too special about talking to someone and taking a break from conquest, right?"

 _"Indeed. But you've visited her a total of three times now. That's enough proof for us to believe that there's definitely more to this interaction between you two than you allow us to know."_ Ludwig said. _"The further confirmation was Rosalina kissing your cheek after you saved her Lumas. Give us more credit, Father. We know there's more to this than you want to admit aloud."_

"...Darn it." Bowser muttered under his breath, since he can't really dispute it. "Alright...so what do you want from me regarding that?"

 _"We wanna meet her for ourselves, of course!"_ Wendy emphasized. _"And don't bother arguing with us about it, Daddy! You can either invite her over or we can go to her. Our curiosity is more than enough to seek her out. We simply MUST!~"_

"Now hold on a moment-!"

 _"Whoops! I have another call waiting for me, can't talk further about this. Also can't wait to see to see Rosalina! Love ya Daddy! Kiss kiss! Bye!~"_ Wendy's projection waved before ultimately disappearing. Ludwig huffed, but he nonetheless agreed as his projection disappeared as well. Bowser sighed as he gently palmed his face, already feeling tired.

His gut-despite being stuffed with breakfast-was telling him that he really didn't have a choice in the matter. It looks like Rosalina would be seeing his other children as well, very soon.

 _Oh, how fun..._

* * *

 **Well, there we have it. The Kooaplings are soon going to be taking stage in interacting with Rosalina, with Wendy and Ludwig leading by the helms. That's certainly going to be fun for them and Rosalina, though likely embarrassing for the Koopa King at first, at least for a little while. And I do intend on going through all of them through multiple chapters centering one at a time. Each of them will have Rosalina's undivided attention for a while.**

 **How they lay this plan out will be explained in the next chapter.**


	12. Koopaling Khaos Kommences

**The one where the title is silly, and I have no regrets for it at all. Plus the Koopalings as a whole finally make an entrance, and how it's gonna play out will be somewhat explained.**

 **Let's begin, readers.~**

* * *

Rosalina was honestly looking forward to the visit towards the Koopa King's residence. So much in fact, that she was actually making her way there right now. Unfortunately she couldn't really place a place to warp that was right in front of Bowser's Castle. So she had to choose the place closest to his castle and make her stroll there instead. She had her hands clasped as she was making her way there wondering what the Koopalings may be like, and if they were anything like Bowser. This was her opportunity to have a close and personal interaction with them.

Though of course, a certain some didn't entirely agree with her choice, which is why said person has chosen to accompany her on said visit. And of course, this person was the Luma known as Polari. He was frantically looking around in complete and utter anxiousness while Rosalina was casually strolling into Dark Land, gazing around and looking more curious about the landscape than anything.

"M'lady, I'm not feeling too comfortable in this environment. Are you absolutely sure that this is a good idea...?" Polari said while still anxiously looking around, which prompted Rosalina to reach her hand out and reassuringly pet the top of his head.

"Your worry is indeed understandable, Polari. But worry not, Bowser has spoken quite dearly about his beloved children. They do their troublemaking every now and then, but they do sound like they're very sweet towards one another, and especially Bowser himself, as well as Junior. I heard they're rather protective towards the latter. They've already made quite an impression through those notes of behavior alone, despite their tendency towards playful chaos. I think we'll be fine."

"P-Probably...but still, this is Bowser's family we're talking about! They're entirely unpredictable!"

"Well then, that just makes them that much more interesting, doesn't it?"

"I...I wouldn't really see it _that_ way...but I can definitely understand that type of implication...though that still feels a bit difficult to process..."

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine." Rosalina smiles softly as she stops and looks across from her. She sees the river of lava blocking their progress, as well as a waterfall flowing into it. "Oh dear, I'll have to get over this an alternate way. Do follow, Polari." She requests as she begins levitating upwards and flying over the river of lava, with Polari following close behind. They were being watched by many of Bowser's minions were watching them from afar. Though most of the males looked like they were immediately smitten with Rosalina, with comical hearts for eyes. Though she didn't really notice, Polari sure did. And he definitely didn't appreciate those looks, trying to glare them away as much as he could. Rosalina either didn't notice at all or didn't seem to mind, but she made no acknowledgement of it whatsoever.

Rosalina eventually landed on the front doorstep of the castle...which definitely didn't seem any friendlier than the rest of the Dark Lands. Polari shivered, while Rosalina simply knocked upon the front door and awaited being answered, clasping her hands once again.

A few moment afterwards, someone did eventually answer the large doors. Ludwig was the one who answered it, lightly looking up towards Rosalina with a smile. "Ah, you've finally arrived. You're Rosalina, am I correct?"

"Yes, that is me." Rosalina smiles softly and nods. "And you must be...Ludwig, am I correct?"

"Quite." Ludwig sighed while scratching his scalp. "I'm going to be honest...I'm rather hesitant to allow you inside, Lady Rosalina. For you see...my siblings haven't really gotten it in their heads that this is a very important visit."

"The boys have gone wild again, as usual." Wendy rolled her eyes while she poked her head out behind Ludwig. She smiled widely while looking up towards Rosalina, and rudely hip-checking Ludwig out of the way. "And oh my Koopa! Look! At! YOU! You're _soooo_ beautiful!"

"Hmhm. Thank you.~" Rosalina chuckled with a graceful nod.

 _I can see how Daddy's been hanging around her much more lately. She's not only beautiful, but she's not even exerting her magic and I sense how massive her reserves really are._ Wendy thought while gently pulling Rosalina inside. "Come, come on in! Our castle is your castle!~"

"It's rude to just knock someone out of the way when they're holding a door open..." Ludwig grumbled while picking himself up, brushing himself off, and following the two females inside.

As Rosalina did move inside to the main hall, however, she did blink...and tried not to break I to outright laughter:

"What have you been doing with her, Dad?!" Larry poked while grabbing the top of Bowser's head.

"You can tell us! Do you think she's pretty?!" Lemmy addied, hanging onto his left shoulder.

"C'mon, Pops. Ya gotta give us the scoop! There ain't no way yer doin' this for the kind of fun you usually partake in!~" Roy called out while folding his arms against the pillar.

"Is she strong? I bet she's strong!" Morton asked while hopping around, lightly vibrating the entire room.

"She has an entire Observatory all to herself, Dad! How does it even function? What magic tech does it use? Is it a bit more advanced than ours, or vastly so? Does she manage it often? How does it operate the way it does so consistently? Do you think she'll tell me?!" Iggy asked with multiple rapid question, appearing all over Bowser in various green flashes of magic, disorienting Bowser all the more.

"Can't you see that Papa is trying to speak?! You're kind of preventing him from getting a word out!" Junior said to all of them with an annoyed tone, trying to push both Larry and Lemmy off while disorienting his father himself while trying to push the others off.

Bowser snarled with a vein pulsing in his head, gritting his teeth as steam began emitting from his ears with his eyes tightly shut. After a few moments of hearing is rather chaotic son's out, he roared outwardly, throwing them all off. "GRAAAAAAAGH! GET OFFA ME! SHUT YOUR TRAPS! AND SIT YOUR TAILS DOWN FOR A MOMENT!"

The boys swiftly obeyed, immediately sitting on the ground in front of Bowser in an organized line. Aside from Junior, who was blowing a raspberry at them. He huffed while folding his arms.

"That's more like it...now listen up, this visit is very important, and I'm not the kind of guy who backs down from anything. Ever." Bowser said while scratching the back of his head. "So now that we're actually doing this, I wanna do it as amazingly as I possibly can. I wanna make sure she feels comfortable and welcome. She's our VIP for the day, ya got it?"

"Yes King Dad!" All of them changed in unison.

Kamek sighed a bit while raising his hand. "Your Nastiness, I know that your word is law in the subject, but I'm still not too sure about this being a good idea. It's not too late to reconsider-"

 _ **ZZZZT!**_

"You will _**NOT**_ speak ill of our special guest!" Kammy growled while tapping her wand in her paw, which was emitting lightning. Kamek didn't even get a chance to shout before he was shocked from above, and wa snow lying on the ground, burned to a crisp and twitching awkwardly. "While she is within this castle, she is the most important subject here! She is to be treated as such, with great respect, and tend to her every need! She is our guest, and we will provide nothing short of the best of our hospitality! **AM I UNDERSTOOD, KAMEK MAGIKOOPA?!** "

"...Y...Y...Yes Ma'am...I'm sorry Ma'am..." Kamek whimpered while lying still hoping not to get shocked again.

She then turned swiftly towards the boys. "That goes for you boys as well! If I catch any of you all causing more chaos than tolerated while she's here, so help me, you'll be getting a harsh magic paddling! Those tushies will be stinging red for weeks! Do you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am..." They all shrunk under her gaze, knowing that Kammy meant every word.

And just like that, Kammy immediately calmed down and smiled. "Glad we came to an understanding. You be on your best behavior, and I'll give each of you a table food of treats, each. So long as you brush afterwards.~" She beamed while lightly pinching Junior's cheek.

"Ms. Kaammmyyyy..."

"Hmph." Bowser grumbled while folding his arms. "That's right. She'll be coming soon, so I'll need you all to be great Koopa for her. She's far too important for us to mess this up. Remember this well. We need to make a good impression that we're a happy family. We're not _orderly_ , but we're happy. Ya got it, boys?"

"YES, King Dad!~"

Bowser smirked proudly. "Good.~"

"Hmhmhm!~"

"Huh? HEY! WHO THE HECK ISSSsssss..." Bowser began to snarled and spun around, only for his eyes to widen and his lower job to drop as he sees Rosalina standing a bit away from him, with the company of Ludwig, Wendy, and Polari. "...tttthhhheeeerrrreeee...?"

"I must admit, your dynamic with your family is rather chaotic. But regardless for all that, I clearly see that you deeply care about each of your children." Rosalina smiled and tilted her head. "It's adorable.~"

"Wha...whe...how did...gah...?" Bowser mumbled in embarrassment, a light blush covering his cheeks. "W-Wait a minute! I-I wasn't ready! There's-"

"Now now, Father. She's already here. And redoing it is not really going to accomplish anything at the moment." Ludwig said while shaking his head. "Now here's how things are going to work. Each of us get thirty minutes alone with her, while Father, Junior, Kammy, Kamek, and Polari serve as supervision. After the time ends, we move onto the next Koopaling until she's officially been introduced to all of us and knows our quirks and interests, including our interest in her. Does this need any repeating?"

"Nah, we got it." Wendy waved off while doing her nails. "C'mon boys. Let's go and assume our positions." She says as she makes her way off, with the other Koopaling immediately following. Kamek and Kammy left as well after the former recovered from being shocked again.

Bowser shook his head and held his paw out towards them. "Wait a Koopa-Flipping second! I completely mucked up her intro into the castle! I feel like-"

"Sshhh..." Rosalina suddenly silenced him with a single finger on his mouth, smiling calmly at his widened eyes of surprise. "Now then, Ludwig seems to have a reasonable plan for introducing me to him and each of the Koopalings. He might be a bit offended if I don't follow through. So just bear with it for a bit, alright?" She says, then reached up and playfully rustling the red hair on his head, before she turned away and began moving out, with Polari following her anxiously. "I believe I'll have quite a bit of fun here, Polari!~"

"W-W-Wha...?" Bowser blinked. First off, he wasn't able to properly greet her and introduce her into the castle because his children distracted him. Then he had to endure Kammy electrocuting Kamek again in annoyance. And then _just now_ , Rosalina nonchalantly yet cheerfully pets the top of his head like none of it happened, then just walks off..and he was _calmed_ by it.

 _What just?! How did?! Why the?!_

Bowser grumbled while clutching his skull and roughly groaning aloud.

 _I have SO many questions!_

 _"Would you like me to answer them?~"_

 _WHAT DID WE AGREE TO, SPACE GIRL?!_

 _"Oops! No telepathy. My apologies.~"_

Bowser sighed while he rubbed his forehead a bit more gently as he began following the others.

This visit _just_ commenced and he already wanted it over with so he could nap his headache away...

* * *

 **Welp. By the end of this, Bowser MAY be happier, but the intervention of his children is proving to be quite a bit of trouble for him, more than usual.**

 **And as you can see...Rosalina is already having a GREAT time with this.~**

 **Until the next chapter, readers!**


	13. Larry and Lemmy

**Two young Kooaplings. One likes to have fun. The other wants to make Junior jealous. Success rate? High. Chapter Length? Short, but intentional. The rest are likely to be longer, if only slightly. Hope that's okay with you.**

 **Let's begin once again, shall we dear readers?**

* * *

Bowser was beginning to worry that this might not be the best of ideas. Though since they were all already here and very deep into this matter, there wasn't really much he could do or say that would allow any of them to stop now. Besides, Rosalina was already beginning to enjoy herself, so perhaps this wouldn't be something too unbearable. And Bowser would pride himself to be one of the best experts of hospitality when he actually allows people to visit his home and not barge in because he happened to kidnap someone. Indeed, this was a change in pace that he wasn't truly aware of yet didn't really deny. Manly because it meant that his subjects wouldn't get beaten up as much, and he wouldn't have to do as much cleaning.

Though he did wish that he was able to properly adapt to this sort of change. He's a fighter king at heart, so a bit of peace-as relative as it may be-would be difficult for him to adjust to. Though that didn't mean he wouldn't try. If there was anything that Bowser could appreciate, was a proper challenge. But this was the sort of challenge that would take much emotional sensitivity, and he wasn't good at that. It must be why Rosalina was so incredibly patient with him. Given her age, she might just be patient as she acts and looks. A bit of a disadvantage for him, because patience definitely wasn't one of his biggest strengths.

In the meantime, as he thought about this, he bumped his nose into a wall, blinking in confusion and shaking his head clear of the slight dizziness that was caused by it. He groaned in slight annoyance, but remained focused on the perceived goal at hand, which were getting Rosalina acquainted with his children. They were all very willing-and some even excited-at doing so. And the first ones to come up were two of the smallest: Larry and Lemmy.

Obviously Rosalina was moving up first with her hands clasped and her uncovered eye gazed around looking for her supposed first two Koopalings. Soon enough, she was indeed making contact with them. Lemmy was bouncing in front of her on a yellow orange-star ball, smiling widely while occasionally trying to see her eye-to-eye. "Hiya Hi! My name's Lemmy! Gotta bounce rather hi so I can meet you eye-to-eye! You're _really_ tall!~"

"Very very tall! A bit taller than Princess Peach, maybe?" Larry said while also bouncing on a rubber ball, grinning while pointing towards Lemmy. "I'm bouncing MUCH higher than you are!"

"Not for long! You're going down! And I'm not gonna let you cheat this time!" Lemmy argued as they both turned away and began bouncing on said bouncing toy balls, trying to bounce higher than the other. Rosalina chuckled while tilting her head curiously. They certainly were energetic, that's something she can be certain of at first glance.

"Larry and Lemmy, Rosalina. One is determined to win no matter what, and the latter loves to have as much fun as he can. They tend to cause quite a bit of mischief together. Big trouble in small packages." Kammy explained while levitating beside Rosalina on her broom. Larry uses an orange wand, while Lemmy uses a green wand. Former tends to be a bit aggressive, while the latter, like I said, just likes to have fun. Because of the former's aggressiveness, he tends to lead some of the Koopa Troops little attacks on other places. Guess he likes to fight sometimes."

"What can I say? The boy likes to tussle when he has the chance." Bowser grinned.

"As for Lemmy, he is the least bright of the Koopalings. Definitely not the brightest Koopaling of the bunch, but he makes up for that by being the most innocent. Fighting and playing are very similar to him. He's also most likely to do what his father tells him, if in a rather childlike way of his own. In short, he'll do pretty much anything if he perceives it as playtime, very easy to sway."

"I'm beating you, Lemmy!"

"Nuh-uh! I'm gonna win this tim! I'm the bouncing champion of the world!~"

"Pfft. I can jump much higher than either of them." Junior huffed while folding his arms and rolling his eyes. Though the entitled prince that he is, he didn't feel like proving himself over something so seemingly trivial. Course he instigated a couple encounters over even more trivial things, but Rosalina didn't need to know that.

Rosalina smiled once the two of them slowly stopped bouncing, with Lemmy breathing a bit heavily while raising his paws in the air. "Haa...hahaha! I win! Winner winner! Me me!~"

"Tch, that was just dumb luck. I'll easily bounce you off next time." Larry huffed while turning towards Rosalina and smiling toothily. "So ya see there, Lemmy needed a win to make up for his numerous losses, so I'm gonna let it slide for today!~"

"Sure you don't wish to let it bounce?~" Rosalina snickered a bit, which caused both Larry and Lemmy to laugh aloud, including Junior and Kammy. Bowser groaned as he facepalmed, his eyes squinting shut. He didn't take Rosalina with a terrible taste for puns. "So one wants to win regardless of how, and the other is fun-loving and quite innocent. Point themn the right direction and they'll follow almost without question. They definitely must be the easier Koopalings for you to handle, regardless of how energetic they are."

"In some ways, yes. Those two twerps are much easier to handle. Because unlike some of my kids- _*cough*Wendy*cough*_ -they don't have a lot to ask of me when it comes to material things. Not that I can't pay for things they might want, but they're definitely the least demanding of them all." Bowser huffed while closing his eyes. "They're good boys, regardless of how they cause the most trounle and are seemingly the easiest to bargain with."

"I see. Though I believe that you've forgotten one of the more important traits." Rosalina smiled as she leans down and pats both of their heads. "They're positively adorable. Look at these innocent looking faces, hiding a surplus of mischievous tendencies."

"Hm~" Both Larry and Lemmy hummed as Rosalina gingerly pets their heads. Larry in particular could see Junior out the corner of his eye, pouting childishly and folding his arms...he seemed to be looking in envy. Larry smirked as he gently grabbed Rosalina's hand and further nuzzles against her palm, while gleefully watching Junior fume even more. Larry has always been competitve, but this was one of the times it really irritated Junior. But he would keep a straight face, if only to preserve his 'maturity' before Rosalina. After a while, Larry soon released her hand and gently waved to her. "Hehe. You're really nice, Rosalina. I hope we get some more time together. I'm sure that Junior would like that? Wouldn't you Junior?~"

"Grrrrr...!" Junior gritted his teeth, doing his best not to pick a scuffle with Larry. Kammy told him to behave, so he was going to behave. Larry was NOT going to break him over this, no matter how closely it was to actually working. "I...think...the session is done...for now...wouldn't you say...Papa...?"

"Ah, you're right. Time's up." Bowser noticed a bit while looking at the magic hourglass Kamek manifested with his magic. "Guess time flies when you're having fun...or at least your kids are...whatever. Let's go, Rosalina. More Koopalings to go."

"Hm~" Rosalina nodded as she gently kissed both of the Koopaling's cheeks and waved goodbye to them, which they returned. Rosalina moved out of the room and followed Bowser, though she was a bit surprised when Junior suddenly began holding her hand while walking down the hall. "Oh? You want to hold my hand again, Junior?"

"Yes..."

"Is something the matter...?"

"...Nothing's wrong, I'm fine." Junior pouted as a mild tint of red covered his cheeks while looking sheepishly to the side. Kammy smirked inwardly while cackling like a wish on the inside.

 _What's this? The Prince is a bit jealous of Larry temporarily hogging her attention? My goodness, how influential you are, Rosalina~_

* * *

 **Junior is a bit clingy, don't you think? Though what does that mean, if he begins to get clingy with Rosalina...? Doesn't know why he might be clingy, he just is.**

 **Well, it is really cute to watch for some, right?~**

 **As a Prince, he might feel entitled to a majority of Rosalina's attention. But because he knows she's such a kind and loving person, he won't voice this aloud in anxiousness of her not liking him as much afterwards. He knows what kind of person she was. She has so many Lumas to look after, and she loves each and every one of them equally, like a true mother should.**

 **He's still very young, so these feelings won't magically go away, despite how much magic is in Mushroom World. But he does have enough intuition to not let this do anything to hinder their growing bond. He really wants her to like him-even if he doesn't fully know why-and won't intentionally do or say anything to compromise that.**

 **Kammy, being the savvy grand-koopa she is, fully knows what's going on. She wants to see where this all leads, for curiosity's sake.**

 **Wonder how the encounters with the next Koopalings will go...?**


	14. Morton and Roy

**The chapter that two certain thuggish looking Koopalings are actually pretty big sweethearts on the inside. Something everyone knows yet doesn't question unless it's teasing.**

 **Great times, however short.~**

* * *

Bowser was somewhat surprised that this was going far better than he thought it'd be. He thought for sure that the children would actually try to be more mischievous than usual, which will in turn render many things outrageously chaotic. But no, they've actually been behaving quite well, which is pretty rare for all of them. Even Ludwig has his moments and he's by far the most mature of the Koopalings. And to add to that, they weren't ever this well-behaved and willing to cooperate so well-even with slight arguments in between-unless they were on a mission against an enemy. They were giving off the sensation of indeed being on a mission, but he couldn't really place how they could think and act in such a manner.

Rosalina was moving along with him and the others, while gingerly holding Junior's paw, while the Prince himself was still blushing mildly from the previous encounter. She didn't really mind since he didn't seem too bothered by their contact. if anything, he greatly prefers their contact and appears completely content to maintain it. Growing this close already, she didn't entirely expect, but she didn't consider it a bad thing, not at all.

Junior was annoyed by how Larry's silent taunting, but knew that actually showing it would have made things a bit too embarrassing for himself. So he stayed as mature as he could for Rosalina, wanting to give the impression of someone who could at least attempt to be well-behaved. Kammy definitely noticed, and she was smirking and mentally cackling at the implications. While Kamek himself was simply too worried about upsetting Rosalina, even though she's made it apparent she's a very calm and cool-headed individual. Only time would tell if he would calm down a bit.

After some pacing, Bowser stopped in front of yet another duo. One was carrying around a hammer while knocking a loose block back into place so the whole wall wouldn't collapse, while the other had his arms folded while observing him. It was Morton and Roy. Junior pouted at them, though he reluctantly releases Rosalina's paw so they wouldn't see, after which he folded his arms and huffed while looking away. Kammy beamed as she flew aside the two of them. Roy smirked at Junior, already having quite a full idea of what might be going on. Didn't really help his case at all.

"Well, there's Morton and Roy, Rosalina. Red magic wand and black magic wand respectively." Kammy explained with a smile. "To be quite honest, both of them look and may even act thuggish, but there's also a pretty deep sensitive side to them as well. So do be very nice to them lady Rosalina."

"Way to give away the surprise, Kam." Roy said with a sharp laugh.

"What can I say? I don't have the heart to even pretend to be deceitful to Lady Rosalina. She's far too nice and polite for that, ya hear?~" Kammy said with a small smile. "Anyway, they're both pretty good boys when they wish to be, Lady Rosalina. They're those kind of boys who try to be bad but can't help but be sweethearts when they truly try."

"Hmph..." Roy huffed while rolling his eyes behind his shades, before he walked up to Rosalina with a smirk. "So. You're da Cosmic Princes that everyone seems to be complete terrified of; they all scared of makin' ya angry. But ta me, ya don't really look like da kind of person who would do somethin' like dat. Which is why I ain't nearly as nervous as everyone else. So it's actually really nice ta meet ya, Rosalina." He says casually, and in a surprisingly polite tone as he holds hos paw out to her.

Rosalina chuckled while leaning down slightly to shake his paw with her own hand. "Well then, it's nice to meet you as well, Roy. And I must say, Kammy certainly wasn't kidding when it came to you being rather relaxed in nature." She tilted her head slightly. "Also, I don't really understand why anyone would be afraid of me. Did I do something to instill such a fear?"

"Nah. People are just a tiny bit paranoid." Roy waved off. "Ya see, my dear old Pops has a pretty embarrassing history of allowing things much more powerful and much smarter than him to keep hijacking his plans...and sometimes his body."

"Watch your tongue, brat." Bowser irritably gritted his teeth.

"It's not like it isn't true, though." Morton said while rubbing the back of his neck. "You definitely have a history of being overshadowed by a more dangerous enemy that forces you to team up with the Mario bros. And you only managed to turn that on it's head _once_."

"What, you're both gonna gang up on me!?" Bowser gritted his teeth even tighter as smoke left both his nostrils and his maw, his irritation growing. "Why you two little-" Bowser stopped himself and sighed. He took a deep breath and sighed while pinching his forehead. "...Alright...alright then. You know what, that's fair. That has happened much more often than I'd like to admit. But can you at least acknowledge that I'm definitely getting better at expecting these kinds of things?"

Roy tapped his head a few times, then he chuckled and shrugged. "Meh. You're _kinda_ gettin' more savvy to things. And I say kinda very loosely." Bowser twitched in annoyance but restrained himself. "Anyway, you seem to be hangin' out with Miss Rosalina quite a bunch. There somethin' behind that or somethin'? Surely you're not afraid of her to the extent that everyone else is?" Bowser shook his head. Roy smirked. "Well den, why are you hangin' out with her much more? Unless you really wanna be her friend or somethin' like that? Possbily somethin' more?~"

"...What do you mean...'more'?" Bowser narrowed his eyes a bit.

"Nothin, Pops. Nothin' at all.~"

"For some reason I don't believe you..."

Rosalina snickered at the both of them as she knelt down and petted both of their heads. "My goodness. Roy is actually pretty polite when he wants to be. And Morton...you don't really say much, do you?"

Morton nodded softly. "Not much...though i do show a strong desire to protect my family, despite the danger we put ourselves in. We're always causing trouble, so at the very least, we should all be doing so together, and with as much safety as we can muster. And thus, we also have to be much stronger than the previous day son that our chances of victory grows." He lowered his eyes while blushing slightly. "And even beyond that, I would like us to try and acknowledge that sometimes it's best to simply cut our losses and try to heal our wounds. I'm not much for pride when it comes to fights like that. I think our well-being should matter much more...but if we have to keep fighting, I'll be willing to do so without hesitation...okay maybe a little bit of hesitation...whatever gets our objectives done sooner."

Rosalina smiled softly. "Very well. I believe I can respect a resolve like that."

"Heh." Roy folded his arms while grinning. "Ya see? Morton can be super sweet just like me, when he really tires. Then again...he tends ta overdo it by smashing everything that tries to threatening us. He's protective like that. So we can definitely count on him."

Rosalina nodded politely, and also in clear approval. "I see then. I'm glad that you siblings are much closer than you sometimes depict with all of your sibling rivalries."

'Alright, times up. Next visit." Junior pouted as he hurriedly grabbed Rosalina's hand and began pulling her away, which she reacted with gentle surprise at best. "See ya, losers!"

"Speaking of sibling rivalries..." Roy smirked while mockingly waving farewell to Junior for now, while Bowser was looking in-between Roy and the fuming Junior. He then folded his arms and tilted his head slightly.

 _Geez. What is up with these kids...?_

* * *

 **Morton and Roy. Tough guys with big hearts and pretty strong familial bonds and loyalties.**

 **We can always appreciate those kinds of guys...though approaching them can be pretty difficult, and vice versa. Good thing Rosalina is such an understanding person.**

 **Let's continue on with this little venture of ours. It's pretty calm for the most part...it builds up before the storm begins. And unlike Bowser, Rosalina has the mental umbrella to endure it...**

 **Sounds like a pretty fun time in the making, doesn't it?~**


	15. Wendy and Iggy

**The chapter-which is a bit overdo, but consider hiatus over-in which a brief exchange of both science and fashion is shared, followed by a rather interesting event to come in the future.**

* * *

Rosalina could sense Junior eventually calming down as they eventually left his other foster siblings behind for the time being. He quietly sighed and continued following Rosalina and Bowser as he gingerly held the former's hand, making sure to squeeze it every several moments to make sure that she hasn't stopped holding on to it, and was glad that she was still holding it. Rosalina didn't mind, she did squeeze back several times to further comfort the child. He smiles softly at this and proceeds to gently nuzzle into her hand. Again, she didn't seem to mind. Far from it, the action only made her smile positively.

Bowser seems to have noticed this interaction, and was feeling rather strange about it. But at the very least, whatever was bothering Junior was soothed by Rosalina in a matter of moments. So he didn't have to worry too deeply about it. Though he still had other things to worry about, as he folded his arms and sighed softly to himself while shaking his head. Things continued to go well for everyone, even though some of it's grand success was at his own expense, something he doesn't fully support.; But he won't go on a rampage over it. The cost of repairs would come out of Kamek's pockets. And he certainly wouldn't enjoy that.

Kammy, however, would gladly enjoy that. She;s a sadistic magikoopa whenever she wants to be, and Bowser would always hate to admit that it made him nervous.

"Alright then, boys! Over here!" They lifted their heads to hear Wendy calling out for them from another space, waving her arm about with glamorous glee. While Iggy was bouncing up and down excitably, having wanted to see Rosalina for quite a bit now, and was looking gleeful that it was finally his turn. Wendy shared the same excited expression, somewhat. Wendy was about to same more, but Iggy practically _whooshed_ his way over to her without having to use his wand, and was immediately holding her hands.

Junior was not amused. Iggy was blissfully unaware of this.

"Finally, niw I get to have a chat with the Cosmic Queen!" Iggy said with excited glee, bouncing up and down every several moments. "I've been waiting for so long to actually speak to you, and it's a lot to do with your Comet Observatory!"

"Very well." Rosalina complied, not missing a beat. Bowser was slackjawed at how she was able to comprehend all that, because Iggy was _not_ talking slowly. "What would you like to know, Iggy?"

"Like, how many sections does it have, and how does it operate?"

"Well, the different domes are known as the Terrace, Garage, Fountain, Library, Kitchen, Bedroom, Engine Room, the Gate, the Garden, the Launch Star, and Planet of Trials."

"Ooooh!~" Iggy beamed, the swirls in his glasses swirling around with glee and fascination. Bowser and Wendy rolled their eyes at this while shaking their heads in slight annoyance.

"And it's powered by Grand Stars and Power Stars. Without them, it completely stops functioning, and requires a set amount of them to be recovered before it can operate at adequate capacity. With all of the Grand Stars, it is capable of traveling at the speed of a comet by turning into an actual comet, and capable of reaching the very center of the universe, and is said by Polari that it's the brightest it can be."

Bowser blinked as he heard the latter repeated some information she told him, while also providing a few clarifications and deeper details. That was certainly interesting. With enough power, Rosalina's Comet Observatory would have the strength and speed of an actual comet, perhaps even stronger. Something of that magnitude would make swiss cheese out of armada's without losing even the slightest of momentum. It's come to his attention that's exactly what it did to his armada in the other, less fortunate timeline.

While it's primarily used as it's name makes clear, it sure makes a heck of a battering ram...no. Battering rams require at least a few tries to knock something down. This was more like the sharpest of swords slicing butter down the middle. One try. No meaningful resistance whatsoever. The more he learned about Rosalina and what she possessed, both in knowledge, power, and technology, the more intrigued he became. He was no slouch with technology...he simply didn't have the patience sometimes.

Iggy seemed very pleased, lightly hopping. "Amazing! And you did most of that constructing yourself? Blueprinting, supplying, realizing, completing...a majority of it was done by you, right? You're a genius of a very high caliber! It's amazing!"

"Alright alright, back off, mad scientist." Wendy huffed, lightly hip-checking Iggy aside, causing him to stumble a bit. She turned her attention to Rosalina and smiled. "Now then, we can actually get to something that's actually important when it comes to long-run stuff...those robes are absolutely amazing by the way! So grand and majestic!~"

"Why thank you, Wendy.~"

 _She considers clothes talk to be more important than science...yeah right._ Junior and Iggy both mentally muttered with irritated glares.

"Surely you haven't worn that ALL the time, right? Heck, other princesses like to mix things up a little and dress out of their comfort zone. You certainly down seem to have any problem with it, at leas I can assume so."

"Not at all. I find a look into different attires to be rather interesting. It certainly wouldn't hurt trying new wardrobe from time tine, when opportunities present themselves." Rosalina said with a soft smile. "In fact, I do indeed have several different wardrobes in mind that I can try. Both physical and magical."

"Great! I've got just the opportunity for you!" Wendy beamed while clapping. "There's gonna be a grand ball between the Kingdoms of Darklands, Mushroom Kingdom, and Sarasaland during our little 'cease fire'." she rolled her eyes while quoting the words with her fingers. "Sooo...that's the opportunity to get yourself looking nice and beautiful, and to introduce yourself to many more people in this Mushroom World of ours!"

Rosalina looked delighted, holding Wendy's paws. "Goodness, you'd really invite me to such a grand event?" Especially since it was to be held during a time of peace...she certainly had NO problems with that whatsoever. "I'll be more than happy to attend."

"Totes amazing! And King Daddy can be your date!"

"Wait what?" Bowser blinked, looking around in rapid succession before settling on Wendy. "She's can be my _what_ now?!"

"I don't see why not.~" Rosalina was agreeing to this far too easily...

"Wait! Repeat what you just said, Wendy!"

"Oops! Sorry Daddy, my times up! You'd better get a move on!" Wendy giggled as she lightly pushed them along, with Junior following after them and Iggy wondering what the heck just happened. But Bowser was even more worried that he just got set up for a dance date completely against his will, without his consent, and it would be the final input on the issue. Bowser gets no choice in the matter, he's simply going to experience it and ride it out...that was SO annoying of Wendy to do that at his expense.

 _...Huh. So this is how Peach feels every time I kidnap her._

In all honesty, Rosalina agreed to this a bit too easily. Were the kids rubbing off on her, in a way...?

That didn't matter right now though. Because he still had one more Koopaling to worry about. And to be quite honest, he greatly worried about what he might say the most out of all of them.

Ludwig.

* * *

 **And thus, they make their way to the final and eldest Koopaling. The one Bowser worries about the most, Ludwig.**

 **Though in all seriousness, I apologize for the lengthy hiatus. To make up for it, another chapter won't take another ten days as usual. In fact, I'll upload it as soon as possible, hopefully today. But right now, I need a bit of rest.**

 **Until next time, beloved readers. See you then!**


	16. Ludwig

**SmashBrosFan96 Jr:**

 _ **"I honestly have a hard time imagining the Paper Mario characters in the main series style. the only ones I can sort of see is the Shadow Queen, Fracktail and Huey since they are actual 3D Models.**_  
 _ **I'm liking this story so far. I can see where Bowser is coming from. being told that you caused the deaths of trillions and the destruction of the whole universe. is... horrifying. Count Bleck and Dimentio got pretty damn close to doing something similar.**_  
 _ **If everyone is reborn... could that mean that characters that have died way before the previous universe was destroyed. are alive in the new universe?, I'd love to see characters like Dimentio or the Shadow Queen alive. but have made a small kingdom or Dimention to rule."**_

 **First off, glad you like the story.**

 **Secondly, I honestly haven't thought about that. It would make sense, and be a bit more fair, that I have more Paper Mario characters around than just Kammy. It could lead to some interesting developments...and perhaps fulfill the Action and Adventure parts of what would eventually be here. Intermingling Paper Mario and Main Series Mario lore will be difficult, but not impossible. Doing it _well_ , however...that's for you all to judge.**

 **Heh. I'll leave it you you readers. More Paper Mario characters, yay or nay?**

 **Anyway, this is the one where the oldest Ludwig meets the Guardian of the Cosmos, and is quite surprised by what she says.**

* * *

Ludwig was waiting patiently within his own room, stirring some tea he made for himself and lightly drinking a bit from his cup, before setting it down and lightly wiping his mouth. As he does this rather casual routine, he was thinking to himself.

 _Wendy and Iggy's turn has ended by now. I am the last for this Rosalina to see. I'd like to develop my own opinions of her without further interference from any of the others. To the best of my ability, that is._ He thought to himself while setting his tea down and stepping up a bit. He was going to form his own opinion on the Space Princess and then make his own judgement of her. It's just that the fact that she has Bowser deliberately setting many of his plans aside in order to understand her better, it intrigued his intellectual mind. And he wanted to see if there was an underlying mystery to this interaction.

He sits up and clasped his paws, hearing the door eventually open. Rosalina eventually stepped in first, followed by Bowser and Junior. Then Kammy and Kamek. Ludwig sighed. He swore that he requested that Rosalina come inside on her lonesome, but that request would obviously go unheeded. Though it wasn't a super big deal, so he would let it be. He casually walked up to Rosalina and bowed a bit.

"Ah. If it isn't the Legendary Space Princess herself. Pleasant to meet you on this fine day. My name is Ludwig Von Koopa. And I am the eldest of the Koopalings." Ludwig said rather proudly, smirking as he did so. The display made Rosalina giggle quite a bit.

"Yes. Ludwig is the eldest Koopaling. So obviously, he would have the biggest ego of the bunch." Kammy said with a chuckle. Ludwig lost his a bit of his smirk after hearing this, giving way to a tired sigh. As always, Kammy knew how to cut in, and know how deep she needs to do so in order to keep them at a certain level. It was a slight annoyance since she had her own ego, but not many were brave to point this out to her.

Troublesome.

Rosalina smiled as she lightly sits down in a table before Ludwig, who also sets himself down as he clasped his paws. "Right. Well then, I'll just get right down to the point when it comes to us. You're definitely an interesting person, Rosalina."

Rosalina chuckled at this, placing her hands on her lap. "Well then, you certainly weren't kidding on getting things out of the way rather quickly. What about me do you find interesting, if I may politely ask?"

Ludwig nodded as he stepped back and folded his arms. "Not much from what I'm told, but still quite enough for me to conclude a few of my observations. Obviously, from a non-personal standpoint and looking over your status and what it implies...you are powerful. Incredibly powerful. To the point that despite the pacifist outlook you share, crossing you seems like an incredibly dangerous and ill-advised idea. You might as well be an outright goddess. And only Father would have the bravery-and stupidity-to antagonize you anyway."

 _Why do my children keep roasting me...?_ Bowser grumbled.

Rosalina chuckled, waving her hand dismissively. "Oh no no, you put far too much credit into my power. Comparing me to gods is a bit too much, don't you think? I'm not that strong, to be quite honest."

"I find that rather difficult to believe from someone who can call shooting stars from the sky at will. And that is just one of higher tier abilities."

 _And someone who casually chats with Mario after the universe basically ended..._ Bowser mentally adds involuntarily. The thought of that still made him flinch, and he instinctively patted Junior's head...just to make sure he and himself were still there. Rosalina did not miss this, but chose not to comment.

"I can see your point there, but I still don't really be enough to be considered a goddess. It just does not seem to be fitting of someone like me. I don't put much into that title myself. I find it to be a bit of a misconception. I find myself to simply be known as a guardian, more than a goddess. It seems to suit be just a bit better, if I must be honest."

"Humble. Hm..." Ludwig rubbed his chin for a bit, then decided to move towards another topic. "I see that Father has been spending a lot of time with you lately. He's devoted a lot of his attention towards you. Which is quite surprising, given his rather unhealthy attention towards Peach."

 _...I'm getting depressed at how much and how easily some of my children are willing to insult me. Within earshot._ Bowser sighed while lowering his head in shame.

Rosalina smiled and lightly scratched her head. "It's mutual curiosity that brought us to spend more time together. To learn more about one another about each others thought processes and why we do what we do, why we say what we say, and why we are who we are." Rosalina said while nodded quietly. "And that purpose is further emphasized by me wishing to meet all of his children."

Ludwig rubbed his chin while tilting his head. "Hm. Interesting indeed. Also, do you truly consider us Bowser's children, even though Junior is the only one who's blood-related to him."

Bowser blinked owlishly. _Okay...where the heck did **THAT** come from...? _

Rosalina, surprisingly for Ludwig, didn't hesitate to answer. "People tend to consider blood-related to be the only 'true' parents one's children can have. That is not true. Even foster parents can become one's _true_ parents." Junior slowly looks up towards her as she says this. "The case with the Koopalings and Bowser is little different from my case with the Lumas. It does not matter if we're not related. Parents, foster or not, that nurture, protect, and love their children with everything they have...they are true parents. As such, this is one of my biggest cues that Bowser isn't nearly as evil as he seems. A truly evil person would not care for their children at all. Bowser loves you Kooapalings even though you're not related to him or Junior. Your values and bonds as a family are not diminished in the slightest because of that. If you feel the need to question Bowser's love for you, then please, talk to him about it. You can work it out together, I'm sure."

Kammy smiled at this as Kamek was open-mouthed. Kammy nodded softly in approval. _Rosalina is definitely and truly a good woman, good parent, and good person overall. She knows how unconditional love works.~_

Ludwig was surprised by Rosalina's take on the relationship between his family. And after this, he lowered his eyes and cupped his chin again. "Hm...interesting. I'll be sure to think about it later with the others. But for now...I do believe that our time together is up..."

Junior lightly jumped and hugged Rosalina's leg and lightly nuzzled her. :You have to leave now, Rosalina...?"

She smiled as she leans down and hugs the small Koopa Prince. "Unfortunately, I do. But do not fret. I'll be sure to visit another time. I haven't forgotten Wendy's offer. I'll be sure to mark my star calendar.~" She nods and pats his head as she turned and nodded to Bowser. "Bowser. I do hope the rest of your day turns out well. I'll be sure to see you and the others again very soon. So do look forward to it."

"Um...yeah..." Bowser mumbled while rubbing his neck. Rosalina nodded softly as she soon waves waves her hand in a circular motion. She then disappears in a sparkle of glowing stars. He blinked at this, scratching his head. "That's a bit weird...why didn't she simply do that when she came into the castle?"

"Because it's more polite ot enter a visitor's home up front, my Lordiness." Kammy says while smiling softly. "Well then this truly has been a wonderful visit of hers! I do hope we can do so again sometime! And we'll be looking forward to he ball between Darklands, Sarasaland, and Mushroom Kingdom! It's going to be such a fun time! I'll be able to finally use my fancy robes after so long!~"

"I don't share the sentiments...and by the way, you don't look that good in those robes." Kamek mumbled as he shook his head. "You wouldn't look nearly as well in it as you did in the past...why did I say that...?!" Kamek immediately cursed his words as soon as they came out of his mouth, seeing Kammy grin menacingly as her paws charged with lightning. "N-Noiw now Kammy...l-let's not resort to violence...i-it just slipped out! I didn't m-"

 _ZAP!_

 _"AAAAIIIIEEEEEEEEE!"_

Bowser groaned as Ludwig returned to his quarters and Junior returned to his room, eager to see Rosalina again soon. "So to review, my children actually behaved during this visit, Rosalina got along well with all of them, and...nearly all of them made fun of me in one way or another...can I really consider that a success...?" Bowser groaned. But at the very least, he would be attending the three-way ball with her in due time.

...Wait. Wendy set him up on a date without his consent. He almost forgot. And now he had to plan accordingly for that.

...

 _...I've gotten myself in a huge mess...all over a space girl I just met._ He thought while clenching his fist. _What am I thinking?!_ He then unclenched his fist as he sighed softly. _I'm thinking about spending more time with her...because now my children like her and will want to see her more, and I can't just stop that in it's tracks...besides...we have been getting along more...it won't be the worst thing in the world if I attend this dance with her...still...this is gonna be awkward for me and Peach. And then there's that Sarasland Princess...oh great Koopa. I gotta interact with that crazy woman again...I haven't forgotten when she slapped me hard enough to send me flying far..._

Bowser groaned at this. Princess Peach was at least tolerant of Bowser no matter what he did.

Daisy...she's been difficult. And likely still is difficult.

 _...Well...this is gonna be a load of fun, I'm sure..._

* * *

 **Welp, all the Koopalings haven been won over Rosalina, one after another. And she likes then back. Bowser has to mark his calendar, because that three-way ball is happening.**

 **..And _boy_ , I'm gonna have some fun writing that when it comes.~ Mischief is completely inevitable.~**


	17. Daisy

**The one where a certain passionate princess from another kingdom talks with her friends about the big scaly Koopa King that's now on good behavior for the time being. She one of the more 'difficult' ones to convince towards giving that same Kong Koopa a chance without antagonizing him on sight.**

 **Not gonna lie, not entirely sure if I portrayed this one effectively. Let's see if I gave her a good first impression in this specific story, yeah?**

* * *

Princess Peach was quietly stirring her tea at the moment. A friend was currently sitting in front of her, voicing her...concerns. She was a very close friend of hers, and was simply worried about her and the others. Now some normal, peaceful conversations would have a friend sit down with another friend so they could speak to one another about the issue at hand, work on a way to improve their situation and make everyone happy in the process. And the preferred way to do so is in a calm, collected, and level-headed manner.

" _HAAAAAAAAAAAAAH?!_ Bowser and Rosalina are WHAT?!"

Unfortunately for those who enjoy peace and quiet, Princess Daisy was Peach's best friend. Peaceful and Quiet...are the _last_ words that can be used to describe her. Peach has long-since accepted that her dear friend has a ridiculous amount of difficulty maintaining an indoor voice.

"They're spending time together, Daisy. And it's completely harmless."

"Harmless?! _HARMLESS?!_ " This is _**King Bowser**_ we're talking about, Peach! And as annoying as he is, he's anything BUT harmless!" Daisy interjected, slamming her hands on the table. "How in the world is Rosalina okay with him walking all around her place like that? I mean, i'd be at least keeping an eye on him before he starts any trouble!"

"They have been spending quite a bit of time together, Daisy. And Bowser has been on his best behavior according to her. Plus, ever since this started, there hasn't been any attacks on the Mushroom Kingdom or Sarasaland. If I may be honest, this surprising turn of events may serve to be quite positive for everyone."

"Do you even hear the words coming out of your mouth, Peach? Bowser's not only a brute, but he can also be ridiculously sneaky if he really tries! There's no way that he ISN'T up to something!"

"Daisy." Mario interjected, interrupting the Sarasaland Princess's rant. "Now, I know that you have your doubts about this. Believe us when I say that we do too, and some still do. But we can't really deny that Bowser's been on some passable positive rolls lately. He hasn't done anything lately that warrants any serious intervention. So I'd say that there isn't anything to worry about until...you know, he actually does something evil. Otherwise, we think that his new friendship with Rosalina is harmless. And as Peach said, it can be mutually beneficial for both of them. Rosalina likes is company, and vice versa."

"You too, Mario...?" Daisy moaned in abstract annoyance. She then directed her attention towards Luigi, who jumped a bit at her fierce gaze. "Luigi! What do YOU think about all this?"

Not really comfortable with being called out like this, Luigi nervously laughed while rubbing the back of his neck. "W-W-Well...I, uh, you see...um.."

" _Luiiiiigiiiii!_ " Daisy drawled out, again slamming her hands on the table and making him jump a bit. She then got real close to his face, something he wasn't fully prepared for, evidenced by his blush. "Don't go all jittery on me now, Luigi! Tell me _YOUR_ thoughts on this whole thing!"

"Okay okay! I think this is a really good thing for everyone!" Luigi scrambled a bit while putting together his thoughts as quickly as he could. "As Mario and Peach said, they both seem to be really enjoying each others company. And ever since then, Bowser hasn't really done anything evil or anything like that. If anything, it seems like Rosalina has been a very good influence on him in some fronts, so there's no need to be seriously worried as of right now. And besides, Rosalina is practically an effective goddess in terms o power. If Bowser were to actually pull something, she'd be able to handle it with or without us. But...I'm confident that he'll behave himself."

Daisy eyed him critically. She was already well aware that Luigi was being completely truthful with his words, as he has no reason to lie to her about something so seeing how Luigi was fully supportive of Bowser and Rosalina being friends and interacting with one another more, that leads to a three-to-one vote on whether intervention needs to be done or not. As such, Daisy had to concede to their points, and accept that Bowser was indeed on much better behavior since he began hanging out with Rosalina. As such, their interactions should remain uninterrupted so that his development can continue positively. Daisy ruining that due to a grudge wouldn't be helping anyone. So against her feelings...she wouldn't do anything too rash.

...That didn't mean she had to like it, though.

"Man. This _sucks_." Daisy grumbled in annoyance. "I really wanted a good reason to punch him in his stupid face the next time I see him...other than doing it just to do it."

"Well, at least you're being _somewhat_ fair about this..." Peach smiled uneasily.

"And please, Daisy. We don't know if this change in Bowser is going to stick or not. That's a fair suspicion. But for all things good in the Mushroom, don't do anything that might jeopardize this. Just...stay cool, alright?" Mario suggested with a just as uneasy smile.

"Why are you both telling me to be cool as if I'm the worst at it?! I can be cool! I can _totally_ be cool!" Daisy shouted.

Luigi shakily raised a finger. "You...you can be a bit hot-tempered at the potential worst of times..."

" _ **WHAT THE GOOMBA?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!**_ " Daisy shouted once again, appearing comically large in comparison to her friends being small. She even had the razor teeth to go along with the intimidating image.

Luigi sweated a bit with both hands raised. "All we're saying- _completely_ without offense, by the way-that you can be just as hot-tempered as Bowser...and if you go picking fights with him simply because you don't like him, you'll both be butting heads for extended periods of time, then no one will get anywhere." Luigi calmed himself as it looked like Daisy was quieting down. "Look. If he _does_ do something that warrants righteous retribution, THEN you can punch him in the face. There. Is that reasonable enough? Remember that you've already slapped him hard enough to send him flying sky-high, so he's gonna be nervous about you doing it again. That might be your way of keeping hi in check, I guess...?"

" _Hnnnn..._ " Daisy, after hearing all of the more reasonable inputs of her friends, she simply huffed, and pouted. And it caused quite a bit of embarrassment for Luigi, because _something_ about her puffed cheek pouting was incredibly adorable. Daisy conceded fully this time, sighing and folding her arms. "Alright alright, you all can stop ganging up on me now. I'll behave around Bowser. The Three-Kingdom Ball is coming up and we all have to be on 'respectable behavior' I guess. But the _second_ he does something even remotely evil-looking, I'm SO kicking his scaly butt back to his own castle! Just because he's been on good behavior lately does NOT make us friends!"

"That's fair. So long as you at least give him a chance." Peach sighed with a tired smile. Daisy was a handful sometimes. The two of them couldn't be more different. And not many would be able to understand that they're close friends regardless of that. She lightly reached over and held Daisy's hands in her own. "Do give him a chance, Daisy. Everyone deserves a chance. And Bowser has proven time and again that no matter what he does, he will never fully reach the crossroads into pure irredeemable evil. That's why we keep believing in him."

"Yeah yeah." Daisy casually waved farewell to Mario and Peach as she got up from her seat and smoothed out her dress. "Well, this has been a conversation. Not a necessarily _fun_ one for me, but I'll admit that things were accomplished. I'll see you later, Peach." She said as she began walking. "Luigi, let's go."

"What? Why am I coming...?"

Daisy turned towards him and blinked. "Whaddya mean? You're my ride home today."

"W-What?!" Luigi stuttered a bit in response to this. Though seeing the 'go-ahead' gesture from Peach, and the slight smirk from Mario, Luigi simply sighed as he got up from the table as well. "Okay..." With this, he followed Daisy outside the palace entrance. Luigi then picked a Super Leaf from his overalls and absorbed it, powering himself up to Fox Luigi, gaining fox ears and a tail. Sometimes it would be a full suit, sometimes it wouldn't. It was a wonder how everyone else turns into a raccoon when using the item, yet he turns into a fox. He long-since stopped questioning it and just went with the flow. The function was basically the same anyway, so it wasn't like there were serious concerns. "S...Shall we?"

"We shall." Daisy nodded, then placed her hands on her hips, one of her signature poses. "...Well? Don't be shy!~"

"R-Right, right!" Luigi hurriedly nodded as he moved over to her, picking her off her feet and giving her the princess carry, before his tail flapped against the ground and they immediately took flight. Daisy smiled as she gently slides her arms around Luigi's neck to gain a firm hold on him, simply enjoying the experience as the two of them soared the skies back towards Sarasaland, where Daisy would do a lot of thinking as well as preparing for the Three-Kingdom Ball. Until they get there, she simply enjoyed herself in Luigi's arms. She'll admit that she 's not really a fan of the princess carry. It simply wasn't her style. But...she'll tolerate it if it's Luigi doing the carrying. And ONLY Luigi, whenever she feels like it. Mario can keep to carrying Princess Peach's Pretty Pink Powerful Posterior whenever he does the carry for her.

...Heh. Even Daisy can have fun with alliterations.

Besides, she doesn't know any people besides herself who uses their hips as an actual attack. She heard that it's a favorite of Peach's during those multiverse tournaments people get hyped up about. And they both do so during their many kart races with their friends while holding an item. Daisy has come to a conclusion that she and Peach were the more graceful butt-bashers. She also briefly wondered if Rosalina could get in on the method...

 _...I went from thinking about hitting Bowser to protect a fellow princess, to thinking about the princess carry, to thinking about princess butts. I've got SUCH a sophisticated imagination, and an even better attention-span._ She thought sarcastically to herself.

Her 'active' imagination did serve well to pass the time though, as Luigi soon landed in front of her castle, setting her on her feet. She smoothed out her dress again. "Thanks, Luigi."

"No problemo!~" Luigi tipped his hat.

"...I know I asked already...but I'll do it again anyway. Do you really think Bowser's being sincere with all of this stuff he's dong with and for Rosalina?"

Luigi thought about this for a moment, and considered a different approach. "Well...Bowser seems pretty scarred by a horrendous decision he made in the past, and it really made him worry for his son Junior. So I think that...whatever he does next and then on, he'll be thinking about his son first. Not even his ridiculously overblown ego and selfishness can override his love for his son. It'll never ever happen. So...he'll control himself for Junior's sake, as well as his own sake. And Rosalina is helping him be better at both of those things while also connecting with hi over what makes the similar _and_ different, experiences and all...at least that's _my_ personal take on it, anyway...we'll just have to wait and see."

"Oh that's just grand. You know that patience is _**not**_ a virtue that I'm skilled with." Daisy sighed as she lightly bends down a bit. She began scratching behind Luigi's fox ears, and petting his fox tail. temporary or not, they were very much real, and thus he could feel the pets for the time being. "Geez. All of you are just too nice for your own good...but then again, you all wouldn't be yourselves if you weren't. So I guess I'll bear it for your sakes. Better be grateful!"

"We are, we are!" Luigi nodded hurriedly, blushing from the petting. "T-Thanks for giving this a shot, Daisy."

The princess rolled her eyes. She then ceased the petting and simply kissed Luigi on the nose, greatly darkening his blush and causing his tail to wag happily against his will, which he tried to hide in utter embarrassment. "Just hope that I don't regret it."

"G-G-Got it! I'm just gonna go...bye!" Luigi stuttered with a red face as he turns around and flies off, briefly hitting a lamppost-"Where did this even come from?!"-before he regained his course and began his flight back towards Mushroom Kingdom. Daisy simply shook her head as the green dork flies away awkwardly. She then turns and places a hand on the door of her castle, though she stops and really thinks about what she heard.

 _Everyone deserves a chance. And Bowser has proven time and again that no matter what he does, he will never fully reach the crossroads into pure irredeemable evil. That's why we keep believing in him._

 _I think that...whatever he does next and then on, he'll be thinking about his son first. Not even his ridiculously overblown ego and selfishness can override his love for his son._

"...Man. I really hate it when _good_ reason stops my momentum." Daisy pouted again, before she shook her head and entered her castle, closing the door behind her.

Regardless of all of that, she had a ball to prepare for.

* * *

 **WELP. D** **aisy's here.**

 **My take on her, LOTS of spice, with hints of sugar here and there, and she can be quite nice once the spice dies down.**

 **...This metaphor is kinda meh.**

 **Anyway! In this instance, Princess Daisy is reasonable, but not nearly as forgiving as Peach or Rosalina. A great contrast to both of them, don't you readers agree? If Bowser wants to get along with her, it's definitely going to take a _lot_ of time and care. Something both of the have difficulty doing since patience isn't a virtue they mastered, and they're both quite hot-blooded, especially in competitions.**

 **...That's gonna lead to some fun interactions, if I can manage it correctly.**

 **Seeya soon!**


	18. Fun With Alliterations

**The one with preparations and alliterations.**

 **And it's with chapters like these, you can see just how much fun I have with Bowser/Rosalina interactions.**

 **Also, I've turned twenty. I feel pretty chill about that age milestone.**

 **(On a side note, I've seen the trailer for the remastered Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story+Bowser Jr's Journey. It looks fantastic, just like it's other remaster. Speaking of which... I find it funny that Nintendo did the same for Superstar Saga, then COMPLETELY skipped over Partners in Time. Maybe there's a reason for that? Perhaps they will do so in the future...haha, bad jokes.~ It comes out next year though..that's significantly less funny. Gosh dang it, it's so far away...on the plus side, Rosalina discovering Bowser's Vacuum ability will be a fun bit to eventually write out, so there's that!~)**

* * *

Bowser was having a bit of a difficult time processing what was currently going on, and what would eventually come to pass. In fact, he was thinking over it while pacing back and forth in front of his throne room, with smoke gently billowing from his ears. It's not that he thought that this subject was particularly difficult to figure out, he was mostly thinking over the long-term consequences of his choices and future actions regarding this Three-Kingdom Ball. It's not like he doesn't appreciate being invited to parties, it's mostly that with his usual nature, he finds a lot more enjoyment out of _crashing_ parties. He considers himself a professional party-crasher, not that he liked to brag...

...No, wait. Bowser is the epitome _**King**_ of Bragging, let alone King of the Koopas. If he was had a choice to brag, he was certainly going to take it, regardless of the circumstances.

He shook his head as he got back into focus. He was trying to figure out how exactly this whole thing would play out. Obviously he would have to resist outright crashing the party like he usually enjoys doing. Especially since this event was mostly commemorating how much better everyone was getting along, as he hasn't done anything remotely evil in a very long time, and it's quite likely it would stay that way depending on his overall mood. And he had to be honest, his mood was relatively controlled and balanced. at the moment. There wasn't anything to be seriously upset about.

...Well...if there had to be _one_ upsetting thing about all of this...

 _"WEEEEENNNNNNDYYYYYYYYY!"_

"Yes, Daddy?~" Wendy gazed up at her foster father with an innocent glint in her eye. Obviously it was fake, Bowser wouldn't be so easily fooled by something like that. She was doing it to be cute and mischievous. As much as he admired both of those thing about his only daughter, it wasn't anywhere near enough to overshadow the frustration he felt with her.

"Don't act so innocently cute with me, Wendy! You know what you've gotten me into! Without my consent, might I reiterate!" Bowser snarled. Wendy didn't think too much of it, fluttering her eyes. "I literally JUST told you not to act cute with me! You know exactly what you've done!"

"I suppose so. I don't really see a problem." Wendy said as she pulled out a file and began filing her nails/claws. "You and Rosalina are getting along rather well, so it's only natural that we really get you two to bond a bit more through this little ball of ours. It's totally gonna be fun to have you pairing up with Rosalina for a little dance, don't you think?~"

"YOU PUT ME INTO THIS WITH LITTLE TO NO MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL PREPARATION!" Bowser roared comically, eyes blank with rage. Wendy was simply yawning and patting her mouth a bit while waiting for him to finish. "You've gotten me into something I can't back out of! There's no way I can back out of it! My pride as a King won't allow it!" As ridiculously as it was, Bowser couldn't back out of this because of who first put out the invitation towards Rosalina. Princess Wendy, his daughter, officially put out an invitation towards her, casual as it was. While Bowser was surely able to deny that invitation and keep Rosalina away...it would leave a bad taste in his mouth since Rosalina doesn't deserve anything like that. Bowser doesn't get anything out of breaking a genuine promise like that, even if it was from a member of his family, only shame. Bowser sighed as he gently facepalmed, shaking his head. "I'm going to a dance with Rosalina...because of the whims of my delusional teenage daughter..."

"Ohoho.~ I'm not delusional, Daddy. My mind is quite clear.~" Wendy chuckled while lightly covering her mouth. "As I said, we're having some some fun with all of this, and you're having a great time with Rosalina. So why not magnify that fun with a grand ball. "

"I keep telling you, I don't have a problem with the ball itself, it's the matter how you've got me involved in this. You didn't ask me, you just slapped this on my chest and basically said 'This is gonna be a thing now, have fun Daddy!' I mean, did you even think, just for a few seconds, how _I_ might have felt about this before deciding to go through with that bit of randomness!?"

"Yep.~"

"AND YOU WENT AND DID IT ANYWAY?!"

"Ahhhhuh.~"

Bowser blinked owlishly at his nonchalant, smiling daughter. Even though he did admire that adorable little smile of hers, he was fully aware that at this current moment, she was using this smile to really hide her devilish intentions regarding this new situation he's gotten himself into. More like his daughter got him into. And she realizes this, and she admitted every bit of it with a grand, unrepentant smile. Bowser sighed as he turned away from her and facepalmed once again.

Bowser wasn't going to paint the blame on his daughter. Despite how much he was trying to blame Wendy for potentially starting this, Bowser was just anxious that he was basically set up on a date with a woman that isn't Peach, and wasn't at all forced like he usually does. No, this was going to be relatively peaceful interactions. And he wasn't used to peace, he was quite used to causing a bit of chaos every now and then.

Wendy was fully aware that he was too prideful to say that he was slightly scared of going on a date with a women he hasn't remembered until recently, and not one he's been pining after since they were children. Obviously, he wasn't entirely sure what to do.

"Heyyy! Papa!" Junior sounded off from the hallway.

Bowser sighed gratefully. Thank goodness, his son was coming to distract him from these thoughts. He could piece them all together at a later time when he gathered all of his thoughts in a more collected matter.

...Until he noticed Junior holding Rosalina's hand, while she used her other hand to gently wave at Bowser with a small smile. "Hello, Bowser.~"

 _...Of Kooping course..._ Bowser deadpanned mentally. Fate seems to really enjoy making things unbelievably difficult for him just because he was better at taking it than most. This, though...this was more than a bit unfair. "Rosalina...hi. I wasn't really aware that you'd be coming over again so soon."

"Oh, I won't be long. It's just a few brief things to speak about with you face-to-face." Rosalina explained with a small smile. "Wendy invited me over for that very purpose."

 _I'm getting really exhausted by my daughter's cheekiness..._ Bowser muttered in outright exhaustion, he really didn't think he could take any more of Wendy upending him like this, especially since he knew it was well-intentioned, and there was no harm in it. He just had a bit of a problem being blindsided in such a manner. It left him feeling a bit helpless and the only option would be to let the waves carry him to safety, or have them pull him under. Between those two options, he'd much rather just go with the flow and sort out the consequences later. "Hey there, Rosalina...ya said you won't be here long. So what is it that you want to talk about if that's the case?"

"Oh, it's nothing too serious, promise." Rosalina waved her hand a bit while Junior rather happily held her hand. "I know that our friends over at Mushroom Kingdom would have no problem with what I'm about to ask, but Polari _**insists**_ that I confirm something with you first since he was unsuccessful in talking me out of this decision. You won't mind if I ask you this, do you?" Bowser simply huffed and folded his arms, nodding softly. "I hope you don't take too much offense to this. But I do intend on bringing quite a bit of Lumas along with me for this little ball of ours. Polari simply wishes to know that you won't hurt any of the Lumas that I bring with me."

"Tch, THAT'S what he's worried about. I think I'll call that star 'Paranoid Polari'." Bowser huffed, brief smoke blowing from his nostrils. "You can tell your Paranoid Precious Pal Polari that I don't intend on hurting any Lumas, and I'll be sure that my minions get that memo as well." Bowser grumbled. Though he blinked owlishly as he noticed Rosalina was stifling a few giggles, causing him a bit of confusion as a result. "Hey. What are ya gigglin' about this time?" Not that he had anything against the sound, not at all. Simply not knowing the cause caused the King quite a bit of wonder.

"O-Oh..it's nothing. I simply found your usage of alliterations not only amusing, but also fitting" Rosalina smiled while calming herself down. "Because Polari, while sometimes paranoid, is indeed a 'Precious Pal' of mine."

Bowser blinked. Then he blinked twice. Then a third time, before he folded his arms and tapped his foot. Rosalina can quite literally see a question mark raised over his head. "...Alliteta...allieara...altarara..."

Wendy groaned. "Dad, you're embarrassing yourself. Don't force yourself to say it if you can't do it."

"No way! I can _totally_ say it! None of you help me, either! Just watch me do it myself!" The King of all Koopas refused to admit defeat to being unable to pronounce a word correctly! For all his intelligence, sometimes big words still manage to throw him off. "Aliterara...alaite...alalala..." Bowser grumbled with a minor blush of frustration on his cheeks as he was putting up quite an embarrassing display in front of Rosalina, Junior, AND Wendy. It was a bit too much for him to handle. But as always, he refused to give up at all.

Rosalina was once again giggling, even more than before. All she did was tell him about the alliteration he used, and now he was struggling to simply say the word. And she was pretty sure that he didn't even know what the word _meant_ , and he was preoccupied with simply saying the word, and failing constantly while refusing to give up in the slightest. It seems that, no matter how how big or how small the subject it is, Bowser _**always**_ gives it his all...even though it was over something super small and unimportant like this.

"Alilili...alererer..alitit...alliterations...alliterations! HAHA, YES! I DID IT! VICTORY! VICTORY FOR KING BOWSER! **_BWAHAHAHA!~_** " Bowser cackled at his success while pounding his chest a bit. Though he eventually froze up for a bit...then he folded his arms and tapped his foot again , with the question mark appearing over his head, which was slightly tilted. "What are alliterations?" He looked completely and utterly clueless despite all the effort he put into simply saying the word correctly. Rosalina held herself back from succumbing to another giggle fit.

 _Goodness, he's adorable._

Rosalina calmed herself once more while clasping her hands. "It means that two or more words that each start with the same letter are closely connected. It's a basic definition, but in accurate one."

"Huh. That's it?" Bowser blinked.

"That's it." Rosalina nodded with a smile. "An example would be: Bodacious Boisterious Brawler Bowser. I believe I would describe you as such."

Bowser thought about it for a second. He did remember that bodacious meant excellent and admirable, while boisterious mean rowdy and wild, unrestrained and rambunctious. And the brawler bit went much without saying. Realizing this, Bowser grinned. "Ya know what? Yeah! Those DO sound like they fit me perfectly! BWAHAHAHA!~" He cackled slightly, while Rosalina calmly smiles and nods in agreement. He then relaxed and folded his arms. "Well...if there's one thing I tend to do, it's return the favor. My turn at this alliteration stuff, and I'll use it to describe you."

"That sounds fair." Rosalina nodded while clasping her hands once again and waiting patiently for him.

"Yeah it does." Bowser huffed as he folded his arms and thought about what to say. He thought about what he knew about Rosalina so far. How she spoke, how she acted, how she moved...how she looked...how she handles her occupation...with all of these in mind, he opens one eye while gazing at a chandelier above him. "Refined Reliable Responsible Rosalina."

"Oh! That really fits Miss Rosalina very well!" Junior said with an eagerly raised paw. "She's one of the most ladylike ladies I've ever met and talked to!" Junior smiled. Though he soon pouts as he looked to the side. "Wendy's the direct opposite of ladylike though..."

"Say that again, twerp.' Wendy's smile appeared more forced, their left eye twitching slightly.

"Wendy's more of a Witch than a lady." Junior pointed towards his sister with another pout. "She sure laughs and looks like a witch!"

"Shut up, twerp!"

"Make me! _Pbbbt!~_ " Junior blew a raspberry as he then runs off. Wendy hops off and began chasing him down with an aggravated scowl on her face.

Rosalina sees them off with a tilted head. She wasn't really that worried since she sensed no genuine ill-will within their words. Suppose this was how it was all the time in Bowser's family. With eight children, sibling clashes were inevitable. From what she experienced so far, it seems to be a normal occurrence here, so she lets it be for the time being. Bowser certainly didn't seem too worried about it, he huffed and folded his arms.

"Bah, I'll rein them in later. Some food and jewelry will calm them down." Bowser rolled his eyes as he turned his head to Rosalina. "So...I'm kind of your escort towards this dance thing...you cool with that?"

"I'm always residing within space, Bowser. It's always quite 'cool', so I can consider myself 'cool' with this." Rosalina smiled pleasantly towards Bowser. "Though I do wonder if you yourself are okay with this? I wouldn't really use 'cool', as you are quite, how they say...'hot-blooded'. Cooling down may be quite difficult for you."

His eye twitched. Rosalina switches from mature to cheeky-and vice versa-much faster than he can react to. It didn't really matter much to him, he was more than capable of keeping up with it. Doesn't really help that she said _none_ of this with any note of condescension. Simply an observation of what she's seen of him so far. Whether it was intentional or not, Bowser was being challenged. And he doesn't back out of challenges.

"I'll show you, Space Girl! I may not be used to NOT crashin' a party, but I can assure you, if there's anything King Bowser is good at, is being the _life_ of the party! Heck, I'm King of the Koopas AND **_King_** of the Parties!" Bowser declared while pounding his fist in his paw. "You're gonna have SUCH an amazing time at this three-kingdom ball thing! You'll have nothing but absolute fun when I'm your escort! And to make it extra sincere, I won't even pick a fight with Mario or try to kidnap Peach! No way! I'm gonna be super awesome at this party, no one's gonna spoil it, not even me! BWAHAHAHA!"

"You'll even get along with Daisy?"

Bowser resisted the urge to shiver anxiously. "...Yeah. I'll even get along with the likes of.. _her_." He refused to back down from THAT specific challenge, either. "Well, get going and get ready. We both know where we'll meet."

"Very well. Until then, King Bowser." Rosalina gave a graceful bow, before she vanished in a sparkle of stars.

As he noticed her leave, Bowser closed his eyes and tried to process exactly what has happened so far in the past several moments..but most of them have been overshadowed by a fact that's even more prevalent than ever. It was officially impossible to mistake. If it wasn't clear before, it certainly was now.

This was _definitely_ a date.

...

...

...

... _Great Star Spirits, what have I gotten myself into...?_

* * *

 **The party shall begin next chapter. Fun times are certainly ahead. And said party will be incredibly hot in terms of energy, and very cool in terms of relaxation during downtime.**

 **...Although...perhaps something may happen that will make the hot-cold dynamic quite literal. Perhaps...a fourth, uninvited group?**

 **Who knows?~**


	19. Three-Kingdom Ball

**The one where the Three Kingdom Ball begins and people try to have a good time, mainly the two stars of the story. Heh.**

 **This one's a long one. Time will tell whether that's a positive thing or not.**

* * *

Peach sighed quietly while awkwardly looking herself in the mirror. She was currently wearing a dress that Daisy had picked out for her. It was a classic; an red empire open back even dress that fit her rather well. And while Peach didn't necessarily disagree, she still felt a bit embarrassed.

 _...This dress hugs my body a bit too well. Did Daisy have something to do with this...?_ Peach suspected slightly. She lightly cupped her cheek while tilting her head, blinking curiously. "I wonder if Bowser is really going to come? I hope he does...in a more civilized fashion than he usually does, anyway."

" _PEEEEEAAAAACCCCCH!~_ "

Peach gasped as she suddenly lightly pounced upon by Daisy. Not enough to knock her down, but certainly enough to make her stumble. "D-Daisy! Don't scare me like that! You didn't give any sort of warning!"

"That's no fun!~" Daisy grinned, not unlike a madwoman. Peach noticed she wore a yellow embellished foral appliqué dress with a sweetheart neckline. She even had her hair groomed to be more smooth and silky and not somewhat wild like a lion's mane. Though that definitely didn't change Daisy's overall attitude, with her fists on her hips and her chest puffed out. She seemed to know how well-endowed she was compared to Peach, regarding their chests at least. And _unlike_ Peach, she didn't mind showing it while still being within some modesty.

"What's fun about giving me a heart-attack...?" Peach deadpanned.

"Lighten up, Peachy! It didn't happen, did it? There ya go!~" Daisy huffed while lightly rubbing under her nose with her gloved finger. after she's had her fun, she did calm down a bit to be serious. "So. Sure about this whole Bowser invitation thing?"

"I'm quite certain."

"Are you really, **_REALLY_ **sure? It's not too late, Peach." Daisy said as she lifted her arm and tapped her bicep. "Just say the word, I'll punt his scaly tail outta here in a flash!"

"Appreciated...but unnecessary. I believe Bowser will be on his best behavior this time. I can feel it." Peach said while walking past Daisy a bit, who shrugged and smoothed out her dress. "And besides, even if it does go awry...I'll plant my feet and put a stop to him myself. That's how determined I am to keep this party somewhat stable."

 _Slap!_

"AIIIEE!~" Peach gasped, shocked for the second time in a row as Daisy unexpectedly gives her rear a not too hard slap, grinning mischievously.

" _That's_ the spirit!~"

"Daisy... _why...?_ "

"The better question is, why _not_?" Daisy leaned in with a whisper. "Maybe it's all that cake you bake for and eat with Mario...? It's obviously going towards your pretty pink hips and posterior...this isn't a bad thing, mind you.~"

" _DAISY!_ "

"You make this too easy!~"

"...Daisy. My best friend in the whole world. I love you, really I do. But sometimes you're simply too much for me to handle..." Peach muttered in complete and utter embarrassment, before she harrumphed and folded her arms with a bright blush on her cheeks...she didn't want to admit that Daisy's teasing managed to take her mind off of how tense she was about the party, and could now approach it with a much clearer head. "Are you...quite finished...?"

"Haaah...yeah, alright. I'm done messing. Let's go." Daisy snickered while patting Peach's shoulder, the two of them leaving the latter's room, making sure to close the door behind them.

 _...Perhaps I should take a break from eating cake for a while...?_ Peach couldn't help but think, even for a moment. Though that didn't mean she couldn't bake cake for Mario and Bowser, right? And of course, since she's the one baking it, she should obviously taste test to see if it's any good...she's a Princess, she's allowed loopholes for her own baking methods.

Oh, they weren't going to have their party within her castle. As large as it was, it simply wouldn't go. And night was starting to fall, yet many were wide awake. So she took advantage of this and decided that their grand Three-Kingdom Ball would take place outside the castle, and all over Toad Town, where there was much more room. Sure, some remained in the castle, and she would allow it. It was no trouble at all, really.

Daisy certainly preferred being outside, though. She could only be stuck inside a fancy castle for so long before she simply gets bored and becomes eager to do _something_. There's a reason why she's more athletic than Peach, even though she's no slouch either.

"Hey, there go our boys!~" Daisy elbowed Peach and turned her towards the ones of her mention. Indeed, the Mario bros were there, waving over towards the two Princesses. "Yo! Luigi and Mario!"

The former waved his hand as the brothers made their way over to them. "Um...that's usually not how people call out to us, ya know."

Daisy shrugged. "I dunno. Thought that we would give it a bit of a switch. And I gotta say...I quite like it.~" Whether she knew that made him happy or not-and it quite certainly did-she didn't let it show in her eyes. It was something relatively small to him by now and yet it still felt somewhat nice for him. She gleefully patted his shoulder to get him back to focus. "Heeey! Let's not talk about that stuff right now! We've got a party on our hands, so we should go right ahead and enjoy it, yeah?~"

"Y-Yeah."

Daisy stepped back and sighed. "Alright. Before that though...where's our other guests of honor? Ya know, Rosalina and the annoying, the big, and the stupid? Koopzilla?"

Peach raised a hand. "Don't you mean Bowser?"

"That's what I said."

"Oh..."

" _GWAHAHAHA!_ What's good, Mushroom Kingdom?! Your King of Awesome is here!" On cue, Bowser and Koopalings, along with plenty of Koopas and Goombas, arrived to said party. The royal Koopalings arrived within their respective Clown Cars. Each of them hopped out of their prized vehicles, most being sharply dressed, others not.

"Mushroom Kingdom! Princess Wendy has arrived! You're welcome!~" Wendy cooed happily while blowing kisses to numerous residents.

"I do believe that each of us represent some form of narcissism. I don't entirely disagree with that assumption, but at least we can acknowledge it for ourselves." Ludwig huffed while adjusting his hair and smoothing out the suit he's currently wearing. He looked around and noticed the residents haven't reacted very strongly to their arrivals. "Hm. I see. We don't take villainous action, everything is fine. Strange concept."

"Whatever, the only thing that matters is that we're here and fashionably late. The best and only kind of late that I'm willing to accept. Makes ya look ten times cooler!" Bowser huffed. He then spotted the Mario Bros with a scoff. He then spots Peach, and believing her to be quite beautiful right now. Then he spotted Daisy...and instinctively flinched at the sight of her, which caused her to raise her eyebrow. He regained his composure and adjusted his suit, coughing slightly. "Daisy."

"Koopzilla."

"That all ya got?"

"Dr. Koopenstein."

"You'll have to try harder than that, Ginger."

"King Goo Goo Ga Ga Koopa."

"What the-?! Are you calling me a baby?!"

"Ya sure _whine_ like one when your tail gets handed to ya."

"Now hold on a minute-"

"Remember all those times you called Luigi by anything but his name? Doesn't feel so good, does it?" Daisy scowled with narrowed eyes. When Daisy decides to hold a grudge, she holds a _ **grudge**._

"Hey, lay off! I remembered his name eventually!"

"And how long did _THAT_ take, huh?!"

Luigi lightly patted Daisy's arm with a shake of his head. "Daisy...you promised to be civil. You're not a promise breaker. Please don't unnecessarily instigate anything."

"...Tch. You're lucky he's so darn nice." Daisy muttered to Bowser while relenting per Luigi's request. Then, simply because she felt like it, she pulled Luigi's and lightly smooshed him with her ample bust, causing the others to gasp in surprise. Daisy didn't mind, in fact, she wore quite the smug smirk on her face. "Luigi is the sweetest, nicest guy around! Aren't you, Luigi?~"

"D-D-D- _Daisyyyyy!_ "

"So nice and so cute.~" She swiftly turned her head towards Bowser with pouty lips. " _Certainly_ unlike that angry, stupid, annoying, childish misfit Bowser."

 **" _OH COME ON!_ "**

"Dahahaha! She's roastin' ya more than I ever could, Pops!" Roy laughed uproariously in the background. Bowser's smoke puffing from his nostrils showed how unamused he was.

"Daisy..." This time even Mario was exasperated.

"Alright alright, I'm done, for real." Daisy released the blushing Luigi and tenderly holds his hand, with her other hand on her hip. She gave Bowser a silent look that said 'I will suplex the heck out of you if I catch evil stuff from you'. "Alright, so where's your date? Ever since we met her, Rosalina ALWAYS shows up for parties."

"Well-"

Bowser was swiftly cut off by a flash of light, which lightly took everyone else by surprise. Bowser was the first to get his vision cleared, and he turned towards the one responsible for said light. His jaw dropped at the sight.

Rosalina was calmly gazing at everyone with a peaceful smile, her blonde hair lightly flowing due to her sudden teleportation entry. Though she wasn't wearing her usual gown. Instead, she wore a pitch black gown, as black as her state when she's Cat Rosalina...but that's not the most noticeable part. While her dress was pitch black, it only brought out what was on the gown. Within it, was the imagery of stars, constellations, planets, and galaxies were scattered all over...and not only were they sparkling golden, they were slowly but noticeably _moving_. Bowser didn't even have the nerve to complain about being surpassed in showing off, he was simply awestruck. She smiled towards him as numerous Lumas flew around cheerfully as they greeted the numerous Toads, asking to play with them. Polari stayed by Rosalina's side, still a bit nervous.

"Forgive me, Bowser. I have arrived 'fashionably late', as they so call it." She said with another smile; Bowser swore he saw a mischievous twinkle in her eye...for all he knew, it was an actual star. "Well? How do I look? Did I accidentally steal the show from you? I do apologize.~"

Bowser snapped out of his stupor and huffed, folding his arms in an attempt at restoring his composure. "Meh. I suppose it's alright..."

 _She's beautiful._

He hasn't called anyone but himself and Peach that. The former to shamelessly build his massive ego, and the latter out of genuine infatuation. Something within him wouldn't allow him to attach that compliment to Rosalina so easily, at least not vocally. Though another part of himself feels bad for not being completely honest about it, even though he was committed to being her date. And Bowser ALWAYS keeps his commitments, whether he wanted to make them or not. He has a sense of honor. It's one of the few things he didn't mind having in common with Mario.

Rosalina repressed a giggle; something about him trying to keep his pride together like this was interesting to observe. Because he's trying to do so without blatantly hurting her feelings. _How peculiar._ "Well. Shall we be off?" Rosalina requested, holding out her hand.

"Oh. Yeah, I guess." Bowser muttered slightly. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself, before he reached out and held her hand.

 _Silky smooth._

Rosalina smiles fondly as she and Bowser made their way through town. Obviously, more than a few onlookers were baffled as to what was happening before them. King Bowser, the one who's always going on and _on_ and **_on_** about kidnapping Princess Peach...is choosing NOT to do that and was instead holding hands with Rosalina of all people. The one who they've realized is mostly responsible for nearly all of their Star Festivals. Safe to say no one saw this coming.

Bowser swore he heard a camera flash from a certain pink-shelled Koopa.

"Tch. All of them starin' as if they've never seen me somewhat civil at a party before." Bowser grumbled. It's more likely they're surprised because they've never seen him with a _willing_ date before, but that only made him madder.

"Do not let them disturb you too much, Bowser. They mean no ill will, they're simply surprised by the how sudden this must be to them." Rosalina attempted to placate Bowser, lightly squeezing his paw.

He only snorted, not minding the gesture. "Whatever..."

She smiled fondly, and idea forming. "I know. Why don't we find a nice, open space for us to demonstrate each other's magic?"

Bowser was slightly confused by this. "Kind of a strange activity during a date, isn't it?"

"It gives you an opportunity to show me just how _awesome_ you are."

"Done!" Bowser grinned as he gripped her hand tighter and began dragging her away. Anyone else would be surprised and begging him to slow down. Rosalina simply lets out a patient giggle while her hair flowed about for a few moments.

"I'm still not sure how I feel about this..." Polari muttered. Out of respect for Rosalina, he chose not to follow.

"Me neither." Toadsworth huff, rustling his mustache. "Perhaps we should at least send someone t-"

"Bah! Don't be such a downer!" Kammy cackled while wrapping an arm around him. "Cmon, cutie! You're gonna be _MY_ date tonight! Ehehehehehe!~"

 ** _"I beg your pardon!?"_** Poor Toadsworth could only gawk as the wicked Magikoopa dragged him away. Kamek only shook his head while sweatdropping.

Bowser, in the meantime, eventually stopped in a good patch of land. While there were still couple of citizens around, they weren't as many as before. He then cracked his knuckles. "Alright then, space girl, lemme show ya what I can do! I've got a bit of magic in me myself...though it's more of dark magic. Is that gonna be a problem?"

"I've seen many who have wielded dark magic and we're good people. You are fine to show me, Bowser." Rosalina smiled and nodded.

"Alright then, let's do this!" Bowser pounded his fists and raised his paws in the air. Lightning crackled from his paws and shot freely into the skies. A few onlookers were shocked, but surprisingly, others treated it as s natural occurrence. The lightning crackled and was intense and fierce, much like Bowser himself. Great power meant to show great authority.

Rosalina only looked on with an awed smile.

Bowser's lightning died down, as he clenched his fists while turning towards Rosalina with a grin. "There's another one I tend to use. I do so when I'm feeling particularly lazy." He says as he bends forward slightly before vanishing from sight. Rosalina clasped her hands pleasantly.

 _Oh! He can teleport too?_ Though a few moments afterwards, she could see him appear a few yards in front of her, lightly panting for breath. _Though of course using magic tends to be slightly difficult for him. He's mostly adjusted to his superior strength, immense stamina, invulnerability, and fire breath. He's certainly a skilled magic user...but his magic reserves in comparison to actual physical stamina is quite limited. Though I suppose his fighting skills, intellect, and pure intimidation can more than make up for it, depending on the situation._

"Hah...hah...how's that...? See how awesome I am...?" Bowser huffed as he recovered quite quickly, shaking off his dizziness. "Magic is cool and all, but I put MUCH more stock in mu extremely powerful muscle."

"I can tell."

"And you." Bowser says while pointing towards her. "I pretty much know what you can do already. Magic, force-fields, levitation, teleportation, telepathy, and projection. You've got quite a magic arsenal under your belt, Space Girl!"

"Indeed. And with time and patience, that arsenal increases even further...with a little creativity. Like so." She lifted her hand as she generated a ball of force-filed energy, which soon formed spikes, then turned into a disc, then a tennis racket, and even a miniature version of herself, which was the projection. Then, playfully created a mini-projection of Bowser, who roared and stomped and breathed a bit of fire, before folding his arms and cackling at how great he is.

"Hey!" Bowser called out...then huffed. "Actually you captured that greatly, I'm okay with this."

"Hmhmhm.~" She chuckled as another form manifested above her hand, a flurry of mini stars raining down on her palm. "And let's not forget my manipulation of the stars. In fact, much things pertaining to the galaxy, I can manipulate in some shape or form."

Bowser snorted and folded his arms. "So to sum up...your ludicrously powerful with your magic. Figures."

"Indeed. Of course, my weakness lies within my actual physical strength. It's admittedly not so great compared to most of the others. Even great physical feat's I've managed before was assisted by magic."

"Hey, if it makes your goals easier, you go right ahead. I ain't judgin'." Bowser snorted again while grinning in amusement. He had to admit, this was actually going quite well. He was actually having quite a fun time with her. And her smiling face...Bowser resisted patting himself on the back for that one.

He blinked a bit as Rosalina stood up and reached her hand out towards him once again. "Bowser...would you like to fly with me?"

Bowser, remembering that she could cancel gravity on herself and others with gravity magic, stood up himself and took hold of her hand. "Yeah sure, why not. Nothin' like a night flight to have a good time." By the time he finished that statement, he was already beginning to levitate with her. "H-Hey! I wasn't ready! Need a better warning than that, Space Girl!"

"Apologies.~" Bowser missed the briefest flash of mischievousness on her face before the two of them took off to the skies, each of them leaving behind a trail of stars. Once again, onlookers are baffled.

"W-Woah!" Bowser gasped in surprise at first, but managed to somewhat readjust quickly with enough given time. He's flown plenty of times before, most within his Clown Car. Flying around without it, he has done a few times as well. Though doing it this way reminded him of one of the reasons why he tended to enjoy it so much...it felt oddly liberating. Bowser grinned as he couldn't help but boast again. "LOOK AT ME, YA TINY TINIES! BOWSER'S FLYIN' RIGHT OVER YOUR HEADS. _BOW_ BEFORE THE GREAT FLYING KING _BOW_ SER! EMPHASIS ON THE BOWING!"

"You must boast even when you soar the skies?" Rosalina chuckled.

"That makes it even better! My voice really resonates in the sky! No one's gonna mistake a Great Flying King Bowser! GWAHAHAHA!~"

Rosalina chuckled once again, her other hand to her mouth. Bowser was oddly adorable like this. He's having so much fun, in his own way. "Well then, it's safe to say that you're enjoying this as much as-" Rosalina paused as they came to a sudden stop, concern taking over her expression. "Oh dear."

"What's the matter?" Bowser asked almost immediately. Once he turned towards the cause of her sudden silence, he clenched his fists. "Why that little...!"

He recognized them all too well. It was an entire army of Dry Bones, Dark Bones, Dull Bones, and Parabones. And leading them all at the helm was his skeletal counterpart, Dry Bowser.

And they were heading straight for Mushroom Kingdom.

The inside of Bowser's maw began to glow with flames raging inside. But he calmed himself as he sighed and turned towards Rosalina. "Excuse me, Space Girl. But I'm gonna have to leave ya for a second. Do ya mind undoing your little gravity trick on me?"

"Hm...?"

"That Dry wannabe version of me thinks it's a good idea to try and ravage the Mushroom Kingdom in the middle of the night, in the middle of a party...while **I'M** here." He says with a deep snarl while cracking his knuckles, and says the following with an impressive intimidating growl. _**"I'm gonna go smash him."**_

* * *

 **Even when Bowser doesn't crash a party, he still crashes a party. His Dry counterpart is not exempt from this, as you see right at the end. Dry Bowser obviously hasn't taken one thing into account.**

 **Bowser. Does _NOT_. Appreciate doppelgangers _trying_ to be him. Just ask Dark Bowser.**

 **Oh, right...**

 **Until the next chapter, readers.**


	20. Feelings Blossom

**The one where the ball ends in the least likely way Bowser could think of. But he and a few others learn that it isn't a bad thing. And someone makes the first leap towards a VERY important improvement...but not in the way one would expect. Or maybe they would expect it. Who knows.**

 **This definitely isn't the best chapter, but it's also the longest. Perhaps that balances out? I dunno.**

 **Let's see what it contains.**

* * *

Bowser growled and cracked his knuckles as he stared down at Dry Bowser's army. Pah! What nerve he has! Thinking just because he's a separate entity he goes around thinking he can try and be the real Bowser and stomp all over Mushroom Kingdom? Especially while **_he's_** there? Nu-uh. That's not gonna fly with Bowser. He's going to teach him and that pathetic army of his a lesson they'll never forget.

"Space Girl. Lemme down. I'm gonna handle this myself." Bowser snarled, practically willing gravity to one him and let him down.

"Are you sure, Bowser? I can assist you." Rosalina gently offered, staring at the army herself.

"Nah. I don't need any help. You just keep floatin' here like some kinda super space person, while I take care of this." Bowser denied while gritting his teeth. Whether it was from his own will or not, Rosalina was invited to the party by someone from his family. And he made a commitment to see that request through to the end. Circumstances or not, he was her responsibility for tonight. Letting Rosalina getting so much as a scratch tonight would be nothing short of dishonorable.

It isn't about him believing that Rosalina being incapable. Heck no. Rosalina could probably take out this entire army with a _single_ wave of her wand if she _**really**_ wanted to. Bowser volunteered to drive them off himself to spare her the energy that could be spent for more date fun. She shouldn't have to exhaust herself for something so menial and stupid. While she can certainly be very passionate about certain hobbies Mushroom World has to offer, it didn't take a genius-which Bowser definitely was-to know that Rosalina isn't a violent person at heart.

Besides. If Bowser goes down there himself, he'll make a much more powerful statement. Mushroom Kingdom is _**his**_.

Rosalina sighed softly. "As you wish. Do be careful and try not to get hurt."

"Heh." Bowser grinned. With a wave of her wand, Rosalina brought gravity back to Bowser, and he was sent hurling towards the ground, curled up in a flaming spiky ball.

 _ **SMASH!**_

Said spiky ball crashed right in the middle of said army in a grand, spectacular inferno, accompanied by a very wide crater. That action alone took out at least a quarter of them. Bowser turned quickly and pointed at Dry Bowser. "Oi! Ya Dry Bones knockoff of me! Just what in the Shroom do ya think you're doin' here?!"

"What does it look like, Mr. Flesh and Bones version of me? I'm attacking Mushroom Kingdom!" Dry Bones chuckled while folding his arms. "And I'm actually gonna succeed in conquering it, unlike you. SO many times."

"Buzz off! I managed it a few times!"

"And how long did your hold past? Now so long, I reckon?"

"You're pushin' buttons ya don't want pushed, Bone-Head!"

"You even worked with your enemies countless times. Have you no sense of pride?"

"Well _**excuse me**_ for preferring the world to NOT be blown up, even if it means working with the Stupid Mario Bros! I actually want the land to be _somewhat_ intact when I conquer it!" Bowser snarled, though once use said the beginning half of the sentence, he mentally winced. He did let it show on his face though.

Rosalina, however, managed to sense the disturbance rather easily, and lowered her uncovered eye in concern. _It appears that the reveal of his actions still haunt him somewhat. Understandable that it wouldn't go away so easily and so soon, but still concerning._

"Anyway, turn your army around and go back to the Dry Desert where you belong! Mushroom Kingdom is MINE!"

"Yeah, so I've heard. Taking the Kingdom by force is easy. But you know what'll NEVER be yours, no matter how hard you try?" Dry Bowser taunted with a cocky grin, making his flesh counterpart raise an eyebrow.

"What's that?"

" _Peach._ "

Rosalina knew a line has been crossed so hard that it wasn't even there anymore, once she heard the absolutely _**savage**_ that escaped Bowser's maw with that jab. She confirmed it when Bowser didn't even return with words. Fire simply welled up in his throat and glowed within his maw, his chest swelling up slightly while he clenched his fists.

"Daw! Did I strike a nerve, Baby Bowser? Always chasing after something you KNOW will never be yours. Luckily for me, I don't have such a sentiment!" Dry Bowser grinned as fire welled up in his own chest, blue fire, to be exact. They both released their respective fires simultaneously, and Rosalina watched, a barrier conjuring around her, as the heat from the flames reached her quite easily.

 _Oh dear. This got intense rather quickly._ Rosalina thought quietly while staying where she was.

"I'm gonna lay you flat. I'm gonna smash your stupid skull to pieces, lame doppelganger!" Bowser snarled, nonchalantly punching a Dry Bones that thought it was smart to try and ambush him. All the others after that we're smarter not to imitate said attempt, simply leaving the beasts to go at it.

"By all means, try to do so, Bowser. Just like all of those times you've _tried_ to win over Peach's heart. Just like all your attempts to conquer Mushroom Kingdom. It always ends with miserable, bitter failure." Dry Bowser grinned while folding his arms. "You're so desperate it's pitiful. Especially once you realize that another reason you try so hard is to get Junior a proper mother he can look up to...another thing that's unlikely to happen."

Forget crossing the line. Dry Bowser outright destroyed it. And this was not-so-subtly shown by Bowser smashing into Dry Bowser while in ball form, crashing through the former's army and leaving a blazing trail behind due to the flames.

Rosalina, greatly worried for Bowser, kept track of their beginning battle and chose to follow them.

* * *

"Lumas are quite the cheery bunch, aren't they?" Daisy said with a slight whistle as she watched the living stars fly around gleefully around Toad Town, asking to play with them. "There can be quite a lot of emphasis on the importance of stars, it's really become quite surprising just how true this is."

"Indeed. Finding out that Rosalina was the reason behind all of those Star Festivals was quite the surprise." Peach nodded while gazing at the flying Lumas. "Ever since then, she hasn't limited her visits to one hundred year intervals anymore. This is perhaps the most frequent she's ever come to our world."

"That so. That's actually pretty cool of her, because she's a pretty cool person herself." Daisy huffed while lightly cupping her chin. "She's all regal and calm and cool and collected, not to mention super wise and all that junk...then you find yourself gawking in disbelief that she's so passionate about golfing and motorcycles."

"Oh yeah! Ever since introducing her to motorcycles and having her ride one herself, it's become one of her favorite pastime while coming here!" Mario snapped, chuckling slightly at the memory. No one had expected to see one of the most graceful and calm being in their known universe get so intense once her hands were on a motorcycle. "We should have another motorcycle derby sometime. She'll like that."

"Plus...I never would have took her for such a drama queen during golfing." Peach giggled. Those over-the-top reactions she pulls off while golfing, Peach was sure she was faking at least half of them just to be funny. She supposed once one has been around in the universe long enough, they gain a pretty decent sense of humor.

"I wonder if Bowser knows about these things..." Luigi mumbles, lightly tapping his chin. Daisy nonchalantly waved the question away.

"Let him find out on his own. Rosalina's a big girl, she can tell him her favorite hobbies herself."

"I guess you're right about that. Hehe..."

"Course I am! I'm right about a lotta things!~" For the sake of their own physical health, no one argued against this. They just left it be.

In the meantime, Junior was off scampering on his own...and has made it his personal mission to snatch up as many snacks in the area as he could. Kammy was busy flirting with Toadsworth and Kamek was kept busy via being watched closely by Polari. That, with his siblings doing whatever they wished without outright causing any uncontrollable chaos, left him to his own devices.

He stopped short in front of a table and grabbed the nearest plate of cookies, swiping them and taking them with him. He stopped a bit as he noticed a bit of meat on the side. He thinks about this carefully.

 _Kammy is always insistent on dinner before snacks...why not have both?~_

Thinking himself to be the most clever scamp there is, he immediately swipes the plate of meat without anyone noticing, and tried to run off with it. Though he hurried too quickly, and tripped over a rock, crashing into the ground. "Ow...owie ow ow...stupid ro-OH NO!"

During his trip, both the plate of plate of meat we're sent high into the air and into disarray...and currently making their way towards the very much dirty ground.

"WAAAHHH!" Junior shouts, quickly getting back up and chasing after them with comical tears. _My lunch! My snack! My lunch-snack! My noms! Please don't fall! You belong in my tummy, not on the ground!_ It got ever so much closer. "NOOOOO-"

Until it suddenly stopped.

"-ooohhh...?"

Junior stopped and gaped in awe as his food refused to fall to the ground, and placed themselves back on the plates, before handing itself back to Junior. And afterwards, several Lumas rose up around him, bouncing about. It took a moment for it to click that they were the ones who saved his precious food. He blinked a bit, and they blinked right back.

"U-Um...thank you." Junior mumbled awkwardly. "Your Lumas are quite helpful..."

"You're welcome!~"

"You're a friend to Mama!"

"Mama's friends are our friends!"

"Mama? Oh, right. Miss Rosalina." Junior remembered. He pouted a bit in envy while looking down at the ground. _It must be super amazing, having a Mama. Princess Peach doesn't want to be my Mama, and I don't wanna force her into believing that she should be. Still...it really bites sometimes._ Junior blinked a bit as he raised his head, biting into a cookie. "Hey! You Lumas are always around Miss Rosalina. Do you think you can tell me more about her?"

"Tell you more about Mama?"

"Sure!"

"Mama's friend can know more about her!~"

Junior smiled a bit. It may not be the most exciting of ways to have some fun at a party...but his curiosity was getting the better of him. He wanted to know more about the Lumas, and their deeper relationship with Rosalina. He might have heard the story before, but a bit of a refresher couldn't hurt. _That Polari guy is likely to know a few things, too._ He blinked a bit as he noticed the Lumas stop for a moment. They each turned towards him. "What's the matter...?"

"Mama's told us her story many, many times."

"Though we know...Mama's story is quite sad at certain parts. VERY sad."

"Are you sure you want to hear about it...?"

"...I wanna hear it." Junior said with a sharp nod. Bowser, Kammy, and Kamek have told him plenty of happy bed-time stories, even while in stitches from fighting the Mario Bros. Being a big boy in the future-as well as the future Koopa Ruler-meant that he had to be another to handle the sad stories as well as the happy ones.

He followed the Lumas without hesitation, unaware of his father's current plight. Probably better that way.

* * *

Bowser's infuriation with his Dry counterpart grows as he locked paws with him, each trying to wrestle the other into submission. It has become increasingly clear to Bowser that Dry Bowser was an incredibly aggravating and resilient opponent. Their physical strength was around the same, but his destructive fireballs we're completely useless against the living skeleton, who's fireballs could actually do a fair bit of damage.

"You're looking a bit aggravated, Bowser! Things not turning out the way you hoped?!" Dry Bowser taunted as he broke the grapple and bunched Bowser in the nose. An irritated roar rang out of him, though he clenched his fist and punched the skeleton right back , sending him rolling across the ground.

"You kidding?! I have you RIGHT where I want ya!"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Dry Bowser snickered while his flesh counterpart ran towards him. He pulled his paw back as a bone manifested in his hand, then he swung it towards him like a bat. He was sent flying and then crashing along the ground once again. "You'll have to think again, because you're clearly WRONG!~"

"Bah! Shut it you bag of bones! I'll be through with you yet!"

"Sorry pal, but I don't think you will." Dry Bowser grinned as Bowser revved towards him again with a spiky spindash. A snap of his fingers later, he was blasted in the side by an incoming Bullet Bill, making him lose control and smash into another nearby boulder. A Dry Bones saluted another on their respectable aim. "And this is exactly why. Ya really though that you were gonna beat my army all by yourself?"

"I promised my men that this would be their day off. No Princess capturing. No Kingdom attacking. None of that. They have the day and night all to themselves." Bowser muttered while clenching his fists. "I'm not just gonna go back on my word to them just because _I'm_ having a hard time! There's nothing cruddier than a King who breaks his word with his soldiers and people. That ain't me!"

"Hehe."

"I was gonna lay ya flat. I'll be keeping that word too!" Bowser leapt forward and punched at Dry Bowser. The blow was caught, causing the latter to grin.

"That won't be a word you'll be capable of living up to, my flesh and blood counterpart." He responded as his fist lights up with blue flames, and smashes into Bowser's snout. He swiftly jumps back up and orders his men to fire three Banzai Bills while he's stunned. The cannons fired down towards Bowser, who grunted and retreated into his she'll to lesson their impact, at least slightly.

 _ **BOOOOM!**_

Dry Bowser landed back on his feet and folded his arms with a wicked smirk. In the debris, with the smoke clearing, stands Bowser, who was panting heavily while holding his left arm...it appeared to be broken. Not to mention he swore that red was coming off of it...

"BWAHAHAHA! Look at you! You can barely stand!"

"...Barely standin'...is still...standin'...idiot."

"What does it matter? You have have super tough skin but it can only help you for so long before it reduces you to the sorry state you're in now!" Dry Bowser cackled again as the cannons loaded up again, now ALL of them were aiming towards Bowser. "Once I'm through with you, this leaves us free and ample time to ravage the Mushroom Kingdom!"

"...Fat chance...there's no way you're gonna pull it off." Bowser gritted his teeth. " _I'm_ gonna take over Mushroom Kingdom. I ain't gonna stand doppelgangers like you cramping my style!"

"Can't cramp a style that's already been cramped, moron!" Dry Bowser huffed. " ** _FIRE!_** " All of the cannons shot towards Bowser at once, many Banzai Bills and Bullet Bills rocketing their way towards him. He gritted his teeth and braced for another barrage.

...only for none to come.

He peeked one eye open, before opening them both to see the cause. Rosalina had teleported in front of him and project a barrier around the both of them, stopping all projectiles in their tracks. Dry Bowser seemed shocked by this, as well as a majority of his army. Bowser lightly stepped forward and was about to ask Rosalina something...only to immediately disregard it at the moment once he saw the look on her face. That was the tricky part. Aside from the slightest furrow of the brow, she didn't look that different. But then he felt her aura intensify...

Her patience for the situation has worn thin.

"I think it's time for you all to _**leave.**_ "

That was their one and only warning. The next few seconds was her sending the explosive projectiles right back at them, with such accuracy and force that the entire army was almost completely decimated. Gear was in pieces, Dry Bones were taking longer to reassemble, and several Bullet Bills were face deep in the dirt surrounded by craters caused by their copies.

Dry Bowser sweatdropped as Rosalina's gaze focused on him. "Uh...that was fun, guys! Yeah, let's say we call it a draw and try again next ti-"

 _ **"Begone."**_

Dry Bowser never ran away so fast in his undead life. What remains of his army followed right afterwards. With them out of the way, Rosalina turned back towards Bowser, all previous his of anger gone.

"Bowser. Are you alright...?"

"For the most part, yeah." Bowser grunted as he tried to move.

"Stop. Don't force yourself. I'll teleport us to Peach's Castle so you can properly recuperate. I'll assist."

"Yeah. Thanks. Hope Peach is up for a little sleepo-" Bowser stopped his statement. Cold sweat began to fall down his head as his maw remained agape and his eyes widened immensely. Rosalina was briefly confused, until Bowser turned towards her with that frozen expression. He's never seen him so terrified before. Unknown to her, one thought crossed his mind. Technically she DID know because of telepathy. But she kept silent about it because of the context:

 _Peach is gonna kill me..._

* * *

Bowser remembered the first time he really, TRULY made the Perpetually Patient Princess Peach _**VERY** _angry. There was that one time where many Toads had an affliction known as the Blorps, and Peach arranged a meeting with the Mario Bros and Toadsworth to figure out a solution. That was a meeting Bowser chose to crash with another attempt at kidnapping the Princess. And after being defeated by Mario, Peach had Chippy-her actual name is Starlow - drain his strength, then with her magic, she _personally_ sent Bowser flying out of the castle with a wave of her finger.

Bowser learned one lesson that actually stuck after that day...before all that happened afterwards that is. Do _**NOT**_ bother Peach with the usual nonsense while her people were in serious danger. She'll let him know how she feels about that VERY quickly. He even turned it into a survival mantra:

 _'One does not trouble the Princess when her Kingdom needs her help.'_

So it would make sense for him to cower and whimper like a puppy while his head faces down, as Peach verbally beats him down. He'll still take that over being beaten with a frying pan.

"What in the world were you doing out there, Bowser?" Peach muttered quietly with her fists on her hips. "You could see Dry Bowser's army in the distance, heading towards the Mushroom Kingdom, armed to the teeth. And instead of turning around to inform us about it, you go in _by yourself?_ "

"I...I thought I could handle it...!"

"Maybe the army itself, but Dry Bowser being there with them makes it ten times more difficult! You should have let us know so we could assist you! Or at the very least, _**not** tell Rosalina to stay back when she can clearly and effectively help you!_" Peach raised her voice a bit, causing Bowser to lower his head further. Peach calmed herself, sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose. In the background, Bowser could see Daisy...munching some popcorn with a smug smile.

 _Is...is she getting a kick outta this?! That cheeky demon sunflower...!_

"Bowser...sometimes I just do _NOT_ know what to do with you. I am glad that you didn't personally cause any trouble, but there's no way I can accept you being harmed all by yourself in exchange." Peach said softly. "Just because we don't always see eye-to-eye doesn't mean I want to see you hurt."

"I know..."

Peach sighed again. "...Keep resting, Bowser. I'll allow you and the Koopalings to stay a while until you recover. Please, don't take advantage of this hospitality. I really do wish you good health." With this, Peach leaves the infirmary, pushing a nosy Daisy further back and out of said room in the process. As she exited, Junior and Rosalina entered, much to Bowser's surprise.

" _Papa!_ " Junior called out as he ran up to Bowser and jumped into his arms. Bowser instinctively caught him, gently cradling him. "I was so worried about you, Papa! Kammy was, and Kamek, and...urk...Wendy...and Ludwig...and...agh..."

"What's the matter...?"

"Ate...a whole lotta cookies and meat...both were delicious...so full...tummy stuffed..." Junior groaned while rubbing said tummy with both paws. Bowser, not missing a beat, hoisted Junior over his back and lightly patted him. One resounding burp later, and Junior sighed with relief, tongue lolling out of his mouth. " _Muuuch_ better..."

"He certainly has your appetite." Rosalina said with a soft giggle. "I'm hoping Peach wasn't too hard in you...?"

"Despite her shouting, she knows WHY I did it. But that doesn't placate her one bit. NOBODY is safe when she's angry." Bowser mumbled while rubbing a claw through his hair. "But I did what I felt that I had to. And when ya feel like you're the only one who thinks so...man. sometimes that's quite a lonely feeling."

"Lonely...?" Junior blinked. Then he gasped slightly. "Oh oh! Papa! I was talking with the Lumas and stuff, and...well...they told me about Miss Rosalina...and her past with them." He settled into a mumbled while twiddling his fingers. "I...I didn't want to talk about it until we met back up with you."

"What...? Her past? As in her actual past?" Bowser's eyes widened as he stared blankly towards Rosalina, who smiled softly.

"It's quite alright. Appears he also has your curiosity for certain things. But yes, the Lumas told Junior my story, and it appears he didn't want to share what he thought until he met up with the both of us." Rosalina explained while Junior shifted a bit in his father's arms, while a Luma flies into the room, swirls around their mother several times, before landing in her arms. She pets them slightly while turning towards Bowser. "Well, since the excitement has mostly winded down...perhaps telling you right now would be acceptable, since your son already knows."

And that's what she did. She recalled her past with Bowser in it's entirety. What interested her was his own interest in it: A few times in the beginning, it looked like he was about to doze off. Though it was around the beginning of her journey away from home that he sat in full attention and listened to every detail she had to offer. All chapters of her life before the Lumas and during the Lumas, she didn't leave anything out. It was a quiet night and Bowser was resting, she felt comfortable disclosing this to him for the time being. And around chapter four and forward, she swore he could see him resisting the tears building up. Junior didn't bother trying.

Though once she reached the end, Junior was smiling again, and Bowser was quite stunned. He tried to process everything he heard, and summarize it.

 _She was a little girl who left her family behind to find the Lumas mother. At some point, years later, she was forced to accept that her family has likely passed away during her absence, and she no longer had a home to go back to, and only had her Lumas to comfort her. From then on, she decided that the Lumas were her new family, adopting them as their mother. And so, she comes back to her home every one hundred years ever since...those are the Star Festivals..._

Bowser groaned as he rubbed his paws over his face, hiding whatever tears he may have had. "Geez, Space Girl. You make my childhood seem like a cakewalk. That's...heavy."

"Mhm."

"And yet you're able to tell that story repeatedly to your Lumas as if it doesn't bother you?"

"It's a part of my history, Bowser. As sad as it is, I don't have any desire to bury it. Besides...it lead me to the Lumas. I'm very happy with them."

Bowser sighed while scratching the back of his neck. "...I...never really knew my folks. For as long as I could remember, Kamek was the only parent I've ever had. And later down the line, there's Kammy. They're both really great...I appreciate them for putting up with a troublesome reptile like myself. I really do."

Junior turned towards Rosalina. "But the story did have a happy ending, right? You found a new family to call your own! All the Lumas really love you as their Mama!" Junior pouted and looked down slightly. "I like that the story was happy for you and the Lumas...but...it reminds me of how I don't have a Mama of my own..."

Both Rosalina and Bowser panicked slightly. The former felt somewhat guilty for bring this sort of emotion within him. The latter shook his head, and her telepathy reassured her that he didn't blame her. Though what they _**didn't**_ expect was what Junior said next. Whether it was from childlike innocence or something deep and genuine within his heart, or both. And there was no taking it back, not that he wanted to.

Junior hopped off of Bowser, waddled up to Rosalina, and looked up at her with those innocent hopeful eyes of his. "Miss Rosalina...can...can I call you Mama...?"

Bowser gaped in surprise, while Rosalina looked just as shocked for once. They both quickly looked at one another for the briefest of moments. Then, both of them calmed down, and came to a decision. They didn't have the heart to take this conversation down a disappointing path.

Rosalina smiled, as she lightly pets Junior's head. "Of course, Junior. If it brings peace to your heart...you can call me Mama."

Junior blinked a bit, as if he really heard her right. He was hesitant at first, but tries out the word anyway. "M...Mama..." Rosalina nods, and Junior begins to smile. "Mama...Mama! MAMA!" Junior then hops on her lap and hugs her around her waist, nuzzling softly into her bosom. "Mama..." It just sounded so gratifying for him to say while attached to her. He couldn't help himself. Rosalina sensed a wave of emotions coming off of Junior, and one of them was pure unmistakable joy. She nods softly as she lightly pets the top of his head while he calms down a bit.

Bowser huffed and folded his arms. "Dang it. You realize we can't take this away from him now."

"I'm fully aware."

"So you're just cool with it?"

"With a bit of adjustment, yes."

"Tch. Always gotta be calm and collected, huh?"

"One of us has to be.~"

"Cheeky Space Girl."

"Prideful Koopa King."

"Ohohoho? You actually have some banter in you?"

"I'm learning from the best.~"

"Hmph." Bowser grumbled while looking towards the window. "It was supposed to be a simple ball...how'd it turn into all of this?"

"Sometimes the universe works in strange ways. It even has a sense of humor."

"Yeah? Well I ain't laughin." Bowser scoffed, though he did have a smirk on his face. A thought came to his mind. Making super sure no one was looking, Bowser leaned in close to Rosalina and kissed her cheek, then quickly pulled back. Her eyes widened with genuine surprise as he blushed a bit. "You saved my stubborn hide. And you made my son pretty darn happy just now. So...there. A cheek kiss. Now we're even."

Rosalina smiled fondly. "Are you talking about the cheek kiss I gave your for saving my Lumas from Dino Pirahna? I thought we agreed this wasn't a competition?"

"No, it isn't. I would have been _winning_."

A little bit afterwards, the trio turned to see Peach in the doorway. In her hands, a platter of cake, and some tea, provided with teacups. She moves towards them and sets it down on the table, before stepping back and clearing her throat. "I found some leftover cake in our fridges and heated you some tea. Bowser...I apologize for shouting earlier. Stay as long as you want...just don't cause any trouble. Good night." She bowed to the three of them before turning and leaving again, closing the door behind her.

Bowser blinked, the groaned as he facepalmed. "Koopbaskets I forgot the other squirts. They're gonna be all over me about this in the morning. Kamek and Kammy too. And that Toadsworth Guy. And Polari...ugh...I can feel the headache already."

"Indeed. Looks like things will be getting very rowdy tomorrow." Rosalina nodded while picking up a slice of cake. "So in response, I suggest we enjoy these hours of peace and quiet while we still can."

"I'll cake to that." Bowser scoffed as he quite literally inhales the first slice he had, making Rosalina and Junior giggle a bit. The trio enjoyed their tea and cake in peace, with several Lumas flying gleefully over their heads.

Bowser couldn't definitely feel a bond growing between the two of them. What he didn't know was _where_ it would take them. He turned towards Rosalina and Junior...then smirked. It was certainly going to be a weird adventure, that's for sure.

And...he'd be lying if he said that he didn't begin treasuring Rosalina's company.

* * *

 **Welp. Thanks to Junior and his curiosity, Bowser and Rosalina will definitely be spending more time together. The former will be staying in Mushroom Kingdom for a while to make up for things. Personal pride demands it. Rosalina is also alright sticking around for a bit longer.**

 **...Gee, it's gonna be quite an energetic morning for them.**

 **Until next time, readers.**


	21. This Isn't What It Looks Like

**The part with morning fluff and humor. I hope the content reflects this. It really is all there is here.**

* * *

When he was getting up that morning, Bowser was thinking that after what he's been through last night, there wasn't anything that could catch him off guard or surprise him in any meaningful way.

A few minutes after that thought process, he wished he could literally punch those thoughts lights out for being so dumb. Because of COURSE the universe would throw him curve-balls to keep him on his toes. He simply wished the curve-balls...well...wouldn't have _this_ many curves. The reasoning for this is quite simple. Yet a the same time, still manages to look somewhat bad from an outside perspective.

Junior was in one arm of the large Koopa King, who was snoring slightly with his jaws wide open, small streams of fire escaping his nostrils with every breath, and his leg lightly kicking outwards like a puppy every several moments. The child as absolutely adorable, and Bowser felt like he could watch him for a while. Though he was a bit distracted from that as he gazed towards what lies tucked in his other arm.

Rosalina had fallen asleep in his arms alongside Junior. She was much more quiet than his son while asleep, and much more graceful. Her expression was calm and serene, with her blonde hair still covering half of her face. He realized that he had his arm around her...along with the fact that she feels rather small in his arms. Not even his whole arms. Like Peach, her waist could fit in the palm of his paw. He should know, he's carried Peach like that before. And the fact that she was resting her head quite comfortably against his chest made things slightly worse for him. Or perhaps...better? He truly didn't know, and also didn't know if he wanted to know.

...Rosalina felt rather curvy in his paw. Though as much as he didn't want to focus on that, he was currently attempting to find away to slip away from the both of them before someone walked in on them and got the wrong idea. And then he remembered that he kissed her cheek last night...then felt the need to leave this current position even faster.

He felt it was too late after a certain Koopaling caught sight of this moment.

"Oh welly well well...what have I stumbled upon here?~" Wendy smirked merrily at the sight of her father's stunned face, with his maw agape and his eyes shrunken to pinpricks. "Ms. Rosalina seems mighty comfy in your embrace, doesn't she Daddy?~"

"...This isn't what it looks like?" Bowser whined out, not even confident enough to make it a statement than a question. Even he knew the excuse was leak and lacking, yet he felt the need to try anyway. Unfortunately for him, his only daughter new him much, MUCH better than that.

"Oh Daddy Dearest, that's what they ALL say.~"

"Wendy...let's not be hasty. Anyone who is anyone could have ended up in a position like this..."

"The fact that you feel like you need to explain yourself to me somehow makes this SO much sweeter.~"

" _Wendy..._ "

"Oh relax, Daddy. I'm joking around as usual." Wendy skipped into the room, then lightly hops up to kiss Bowser's cheek. "Good morning by the way. Now wake up your new girlfriend and the twerp, and help me rein in my brothers. They've just gotten their morning rush."

Bowser blushed slightly with a pout. "Let's get something straight, young lady. Rosalina is NOT my girlfriend."

"Ohohoho, poor, naive Daddy. They always say _THAT_ too.~" She lightly kissed his cheek again before hopping down and skipping back out of the room, humming the entire way out.

Dang it, it's not his sons that needed reining in. It's his daughter and all her romantic fantasies. There's nothing like that going on. And for a moment, he looked towards Rosalina a once again. She...is kinda beautiful, even when she's sleeping...

...Okay, this needs to stop, NOW.

"Oi, Space Princess! Junior! Wake up! We slept long enough!"

"Hmm...?" Rosalina quietly hummed as she opened her exposed eye and looks up to see Bowser across from her, having finally wisened up and released her before he made their predicament more incriminating to more possible passing eyes. Rosalina slowly sits up with a quiet yawn. Bowser nearly kicked himself for thinking even her yawning was cute. Rosalina rubbed her eye a bit before blinking and gazing at Bowser again. "Oh...Bowser. Good morning..."

"Yeah yeah, I get the routine. Hurry up and accompany me for breakfast, will ya? I dunno how long Peach's hospitality towards me is gonna last." Bowser huffed with folded arms.

Junior slowly stretched his arms and yawned cutely, rubbing both his eyes before opening them, and Rosalina was the first person he sees. He blinked before lightly raising his arms towards her. "Mama...?"

Bowser almost tripped. He almost forgot about THAT part of their last night conversation.

Rosalina, on the other hand, smiled warmly as she gently kneels to Junior's level and held his paws in her hands, before reaching over to lightly cup his chubby cheeks. "Good morning, Junior. Did you sleep well?"

"I slept great, Mama. I hope you did too."

"I am very happy to hear that, Junior. So happy.~" Rosalina smiled. And she demonstrated that happiness by sweetly kissing both of Junior's cheeks, then his nose, and finally his forehead. Junior giggled throughout the entire exchange, bordering on outright laughter.

"Hehe! Your kisses tickle, Mama!"

Every time Junior utters that word towards Rosalina, Bowser almost trips. It was entirely unexpected barring that conversation, and he could tell that this would be the start of plenty of things spiraling out of his control.

It was to the point he really wonders if he ever had control over this in the first place...

* * *

"In hindsight, I probably should have seen this coming..." Peach said with a hand on her cheek as she and Mario observed the scenario before them. The Koopalings we're up and about, and all of them were trying their best to see who would gather the most delicious looking breakfast selection. Even Ludwig seemed pretty determined to gain a nice slice of Shepard's Pie.

Wendy and Daisy already had breakfast. The best way to eat breakfast is to take it as early as possible, and Daisy's had more than her fair share, while Wendy simply made sure she DID eat before her brothers overwhelmed the breakfast halls.

"...Well, it beats them destroying the place in an effort to kidnap you. That's a first, right?" Mario Sid sheepishly.

"I heard about the whole Dry Bowser thing." Luigi muttered. "Unbelievable. Even when Bowser doesn't crash a party, the universe makes sure _a_ Bowser at least TRIES to crash a party. How is that fair?"

"I dunno." Daisy shrugged nonchalantly while wearing Luigi's cap, tilting it upwards slightly. "You give me an answer and I'll be right back with you for a proper response."

"I don't think your kind of proper is safe, Daisy."

"Relax, Luigi. I'm not gonna do anything...physical, that is."

"Please...don't do anything at all. I'd rather we not start a ruckus so early in the morning."

"Hmph. Very well. Your noble Princess shall oblige your request, Knight of Green.~"

"Thanks for being a sport. Now, uh...I don't want to be rude or anything...but...do you mind...easing up a little? This...might look a bit strange..." Luigi said. He's had a mild blush on his face the entire time, as Daisy nonchalantly took off Luigi's cap again, placed it on her own head, and replaced it's former position with her bosom, which weighed down on the plumber's head a bit.

The cheek grin Roy briefly passed towards them at her actions didn't help at ALL.

"Daisy..."

"What? This is fine, isn't it? My heart's so close to you right now.~"

"I don't think _this_ is how that works...!"

"Ugh...it's always SOMETHING with Daisy and Luigi..." Mario sighed while scratching his head. "...Speaking of always something, how long is it taking Bowser and Rosalina to come down here? Wendy went up to get them, didn't she?"

"They should be down in a moment." Peach replied with a sigh of her own. "Though I honestly don't know whether that will ease all of this or elevate it. I'm a bit afraid of the answer."

"QUIET DOWN, YA BRATS!"

"Great timing." Mario snarked at said timing as the King of Koopas stomped his way down the stairs. At his presence and booking voice, the Koopalings-barring Wendy-ceased their scampering and immediately settled into seats, having gotten the breakfast foods of their choice and immediately digging in. Bowser kept descending the stairs until he made eye contact with Mario, then snorted, slight steam from his nostrils.

"Mario."

"Bowser."

"Mario."

"Bowser."

"Mario."

"Bowser."

"...How long are you two gonna say each other's names like idiots?" Daisy mumbled. Both of them stared at her-Bowser glared-while she simply shrugged. "Just saying."

Soon enough, Rosalina and Junior were descending down the stairs as well, with the latter holding the former's hand. Peach was about to turn and greet them-

"What are you gonna have for breakfast, Mama?~"

 _ **CRACK**_

That was the sound of the casual tone of the room completely shattering, replaced with utter confusion and shock. Kamek and Polari, who were simply minding their own respective businesses, quickly yelped in shock and crashed into the ground from the shock after hearing Junior utter those words towards Rosalina. Kammy shrugged and continued making flirtatious kissy faces towards the very nervous Toadsworth, who was trying to get Peach's attention. But she too was too caught up in the moment to regard him.

She eventually spoke up about it.

"...Rosalina...did...did Junior just call you...'Mama'...?" She asked as if she never heard the word before.

"I believe he did. How peculiar. Perhaps I have grown on him quite drastically." Rosalina replied with a soft and cryptic smile. She then turned towards Bowser and nodded quietly. Peach could see the exchange, and was greatly confused by it all.

 _I...don't know what's going on..._

"Well then, isn't this a splendid surprise?" Wendy beamed with a cheery smile. "Looks like we've got ourselves a new mom, my dear brothers.~"

 _Wendy...why do you feel the need to do that to me?_ Bowser lamented towards his daughter, who was currently smiling that innocent girl smile, but he knew her SO much better than that.

Their Father-Daughter dynamic was a very strange one.

"Geez Pa! You've gotten so close so quickly! We didn't even get a chance to prepare for a mum yet!" Roy said with a hearty laugh, adjusting his pink shades.

"We have a new Mama?!" Lemmy and Larry beamed brightly.

"How are we supposed to find her a room back at the castle...?" Morton wondered.

"I'll build her one! It'll be easy with her mechanical know-how mixed with mine!~" Iggy laughed wildly.

"Goodness, Father. A prior notice would have been most helpful. We could have better integrated her into our family." Ludwig said while rubbing his chin with a sneaky smirk.

 _Great Star Spirits. Even Ludwig is playing along..._ Bowser mentally despaired. The universe really was having a laugh at him today.

"Alright alright everyone. Let's not be too rowdy. We're guests of Princess Peach, so we shouldn't make a mess of her home." Rosalina asked while slowly gazing towards Bowser. "You're looking rather tense, Bowser."

"I do agree." Wendy says with another cheery hum. "What's say after breakfast, we all take a nice relaxing visit to the beach? Let's all _reeeallly_ relax by having a good trip to the beach! It'll be fun! Whaddya say, boys? Daddy's all stressed out from fighting Dry Bowser. A break is needed! Beach Day?"

"BEACH DAY!" Most others cheered in glee, while those like Mario, Peach, Luigi, Toadsworth, Kamek, and Bowser himself were deeply confused. Most others were VERY happy about this. And once again, Wendy turned towards Bowser with another innocent smile. Rosalina was also smiling towards him, and it was more calm and genuinely innocent.

That doesn't make him feel any less stupefied.

 _...Why me. Seriously. Why me?_

* * *

 **First it's a ball party, now for a beach party. It's really funny how that turns out, huh?**

 **Bowser needs to relax.**

 **Rosalina is interested.**

 **Daisy's fun, by the way.**

 **Till next time, readers.**


	22. Return To Isle Delfino

**The one wh-**

 **Daisy: YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WHOO! OH YEAH BABY, IT'S FINALLY TIME! ITS DAISY TIME!**

 **Peach:...Forgive her. She's recently caught wind that she's finally playable as her own character in the the upcoming multiverse tournament, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, instead of an alternate costume of me.**

 **Daisy: _WHOOOOOOOO!~_ **

**Peach: ...And as you can see, she's quite excited.**

 **Daisy: *Dramatic thumbs down* You're going DOWN, Bowser!**

 **Bowser:...I'm scared.**

 **Rosalina: *Giggles***

* * *

Bowser sometimes really for real doesn't know how Wendy manages to rope him into these things without a single consequence to herself, even when he should be the one dishing them out. Because technically, she isn't doing anything wrong. First he got Rosalina to go on a date with him. And now he was going on a beach trip with her because Wendy thought he seemed 'stressed' and could use a bit of relaxation.

...She wasn't entirely wrong about it. He was pretty stressed for many reasons. And she was definitely one of them. Unfortunately he couldn't do anything about it unless it was directly harmful to her or anyone else...but it wasn't. If anything, she was genuinely helping things along. The Koopalings looked extremely happy to have Rosalina and the Lumas to spend time with. If anything, she was enriching their lives with her grace, her wisdom, and mysterious playfulness.

And Wendy knows it for a definite fact. And it's why she was gazing at her Daddy with such a self-satisfied smirk while sipping tea from her lap. He grumbled something about troublesome rich daughters as he had several packs in his arms. He was stepping off the plane they've taken flight in, and looked up at the island he hasn't been to in a very long time:

"Isle Defino..." Bowser mumbled.

He hasn't been here in quite some time. Last time he's been here...well...he and Junior kind of made a very huge mess of it, and pinned it on Mario. Shine Sprites here, goop there, kidnapping Peach here, stopped by Mario and F.L.U.D.D. there...and then they end up having to paddle their way home after being launched away from the island. He also remembered that he lied to Junior about Peach being his mother...he still considers that one of the most shameful things he genuinely feels sorry about...bar the destruction of the universe. That still haunts him a bit as well.

Though to be fair, on the former point, Peach made things even more complex by having to _ponder_ if she was Junior's mother or not. She looked and sounded like she really didn't know at the time. Of course Bowser knew it wasn't true, and was surprised that she took so long to think about it.

And now the Prince has gotten to know 'Mama Rosalina' as he began calling her. Bowser supposed that was what happens when a mother figure hangs around a child without a mother for so long at consistent times. And now the other Koopalings were playing along, seeming like they genuinely believe it. As far as he knew, they DID believe it.

Once he heard the others getting off the plane, he decided to tuck those thoughts in for later.

"Whoooo! This place is SOOOO hot! Peach, you actually took a vacation here?!" Daisy cheered gleefully as she twirled around a bit with her arms spread. She seemed to be wearing a sleeveless dress like Peach did from their visit here. Being a Princess mostly associated with the hot and dry desert, of course she would like such bright sunlight and heat such as this. Plus, she's quite hot-blooded. The place is perfect for her.

As such, Mario and Luigi came here with short-sleeved overalls. The Koopas of course weren't that effected, they hang around magma all the time, Bowser even bathes in it. Rosalina and the Lumas...well. He was quite sure that if she said she's managed to stand atop a star, unharmed, he would believe her. She told him he did the same.

...Many of them were highly heat resistant when the situation calls for it, apparently.

"Yep. This is the place, alright. Isle Delfino. Quite the adventures we had here..." Mario sighed while lightly fanning his head with his cap. "I always wanted to take you here to experience it for yourself Luigi...Luigi?" Mario blinked as he turned to see his brother facedown on the ground, steam rising off of him.

"It's incredibly hot here, bro...you could have provided a much better warning..."

"Mama Mia...laying on the ground isn't gonna make it better!"

"I know that! I...just...need to catch...my breath..."

"Hmph, wuss." Roy huffed while adjusting his pink shades, stepping past the exhausted brother. "Ya can beat us multiple times, but ya can't take a bit of sun? Whaddya tryin' to fool, plumba?"

"It is a bit hot here. Nothing we cannot endure." Ludwig huffed.

"Wow wow WOW! This place is DAZZLING! Just like me.~" Wendy beamed as she too steps off the plane with the rest of her brothers...who were each carrying her things as well as their own luggage. "Ah yes, this is quite a vacation spot. Yes sirree~"

"We would have picked Pi'illo Island...but Bowser is still quite banned from there for obvious reasons." Peach said as she had her parasol over her head, providing a bit of shade for herself. "And his banning from Isle Delfino has been lifted...so long as we keep a very sharp eye on him."

"Yeah yeah, we get it." Bowser grumbled.

Daisy could see that Luigi was still having quite a difficult time recovering, so she sighed as she rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck. "Alright Weegie. You're gonna need some assistance, least ya can do is tell me. Now...!" Daisy grunted a bit before lifting Luigi off his feet, throwing him up a bit, then catching him on her back, piggybacking him. "There we go. Let's get you inside, and get you a cool drink, so you can really catch your breath, alright?"

"... That'll be nice...thanks..."

"Ah. This place does feel quite relaxing." Rosalina smiles as she too steps off of the plane. A few fellow Lumas, Polari included, flew around her a few times before flying out to explore the island. It wouod have been easier if she had simply flown or warped to the island...but a ride on a high-class airplane seemed too interesting to pass up. She turned towards Bowser. "So you caused quite a stir on this island as well, Bowser?"

"Well...I..."

"We did, Mama." Junior said a bit worriedly as he was holding her hand, looking up towards her. "Are you mad at us...?"

"Of course not, sweetie. It was quite some time ago. There's no purpose in building grudges over something that's long past." Rosalina says calmly while looking forward and levitating over to the others in order to catch up. "Oh! Girls, wait for me!~"

Bowser quietly watches her leave, feeling a bit awesome by her comment, even though he somewhat expected for her to say something like that. Wisdom coming from a Guardian of the Cosmos and such. And yet still, it threw him for a loop, mostly because he tends to hold quite a lot of grudges...it gives him something to occupy his time.

"Papa. Rosalina is very forgiving." Junior suddenly said while looking up towards Bowser. He seems to be rather curious/happy about it than confused.

"Yeah...guess she is. She knows all about the stuff we did and doesn't really bat an eye...that one eye we actually see because her hair covers half of her face...why do people style hair like that anyway?" Bowser grumbled while folding his arms. "Does she think it gives her some sort of majestic feel or something? Just standing gives off that vibe. Feels kinda nice..." Bowser trailed off slightly. He then blinked and shook his head. "Anyway, let's just catch up with them. I'm guessing we're gonna have quite a bit to do."

"Kay Kay!" Junior nodded as he skipped along with his father eventually following suit, a slightly worried frowns on his face.

 _I'm not usually too deep into this kinda thing...but I really hope that the universe can cut me some slack and don't turn this into something chaotic...I prefer my chaos to be by me, thank you very much...please grant this request..._

* * *

"ALLLLLLLLRIGHT!" Daisy chants aloud with raised fists and a wide smile. "Isle Delfino, here I am! You'd better be ready for the super awesomeness that is Princess Daisy!" Luigi, Mario, and Peach looked towards her. They'd barely done anything and Daisy was already drastically exhausting them. Rosalina and Kammy, however, they were already having quite a bit of fun with her for differing reasons.

"Hey hey hey! If Isle Delfino is gonna be preparing for awesomeness from ANYONE, it's gonna be from me!" Bowser growled from quite a distance away. They in differing rooms changing. Well...most of them were. Bowser, Junior, and some of the Koopalings don't really do swimwear. Wendy does simply for looks, and it was kind of fun. And Lumas...well...that much was obvious.

"From you? From _YOU?_ The Koopa King of Jerks that once dirtied the heck out of a sunny clean island on another attempt of failed romance with Peach? Pfft, yeah right." Daisy huffed, and Bowser could be heard gritting his teeth in irritation.

"Come now, Daisy. We've come to relax, not to start another argument." Peach said, her dress placed in a locker for the time being. "Besides, you promised both Luigi and me that you'd behave."

"Technically I made that decision only regarding the ball. I didn't say I would be falling that promise for anything after that, now did I?"

"Come on, Daisy..." Luigi sighed loudly, prompting Daisy to pause, then let out a more drawn-out sigh over her own.

"Alright alright, I'll tone it down...because I feel like doing so."

"As long as you're at least trying...we wanna NOT be stressed. Starting a petty fight...feels just a tiny bit stressful, ya know? I mean, kinda defeats the purpose of beaches-"

"I get it. I'll be good...somewhat."

"That worries me. Yet I suppose that's the best we're getting right now..."

"Getting the best isn't always best." Peach said.

"Except when it's me. I get the best, I give the best, breathe the best. Heck, I AM the best!~" Bowser boasted.

"Pride comes before the fall...and I do enjoy watching you fall on your back like a chump. You do that quite a lot with how far up you go."

"Daisy! What did we literally _just_ talk about?!"

"He makes it too easy! Stupid-faced Bowser!"

"I'm honestly beginning to think there's more animosity between you two than he and Mario. And considering that you usually don't take part in their major adventures, that's really saying something." Kamek could be heard sighing.

" _Their animosity is indeed worrying to watch...but a part of me also finds it quite intriguing._ " Rosalina voiced to everyone via telepathy. " _After all, meeting a princess as outgoing and somewhat vulgar as Daisy is quite rare_."

Bowser jumped, hitting his head on the ceiling. "Ouch! Hey! What did I tell ya about the voices in head thing?!"

" _Oh. Apologies. It appears I've forgotten to keep you out of the link._ "

"You've been around for centuries. 'Forgetting' is not something you just start doin'." Bowser deadpanned. "...You're enjoying messin' with me at this point, aren't ya?'

" _...The sound of you sounding surprised or shock HAS grown to amuse me a bit._ "

"You're not even trying to hide it!"

"After the incident with Tatanga, many are too scared to actually pick a fight with Daisy, with or without Masters Mario or Luigi around. That indeed spells out how...eccentric she is." Toadsworth informed.

"Come on! I'm not that bad! Not all the time!" Daisy rejected as she stepped out, now in more comfortable clothes. "Alright, this outta be better clothes for an island that's always hot! Come on out Peach!"

"No need to shout, we're coming..." Peach sighed as she smoothed out the skirt she changed into aside from her dress. Rosalina stepped out as well, also in a slightly shorter dress. "I will admit I envy you, Rosalina. I have to keep shopping for new clothes, while you can change into something you out your mind to. I would like magic like that."

"I don't believe myself worthy of your envy, Peach. But I do find it a bit flattering." Rosalina smiles. She turned to see the Mario Bros and Bowser coming over to them. "Oh? Where did everyone else go?"

"Everyone has basically scattered across the island... it'll be awhile before all of us completely regroup." Bowser folded his arms. He would allow his children to wander freely. There's no way they could cause any serious damage to the island. He was the one under watch, not them. Though they'd definitely be wary of the Koopalings. Bowser would look Rosalina up and down. Summer clothes for a hot island adventure, even though everyone knew the heat didn't bother her at all, unless she allowed it to.

...The shorter dress exposed her long, smooth legs. It's probably the first time he's really seen them, and now his eyes couldn't help but dart to them every few seconds before going back to her eyes. She seems interested in the entire trip, especially with him.

"Right then. Masters Mario, Luigi. Master...Bowser..." Toadsworth croaked under the Koooa King's gaze, which certainly made him smirk at how nervous he made him. "Keep the Princesses safe and close to you. Make sure neither get into too much trouble."

"Don't worry, Toadsworth. There should be no danger...so long as Bowser keeps a cool head." Mario shrugs, while Bowser simply huffs.

"Daisy..." Luigi begins.

"I know, I know." Daisy waved her hand nonchalantly.

"That's quite right, lovelies! Make sure these beautiful ladies don't come to harm! It might be on your heads!" Kammy called out. "Many things could happen during our trip here. Perhaps even a pirate attack! You have to be sure to protect the booty! It's too precious to be touched by such filthy hands!"

"You're right! Mario, Luigi, you gotta protect the booty as much as you can! Peach's is the biggest, so she's in the most danger!" Daisy beamed while lightly patting Peach on the rear, causing her to gasp. "Watch your backside, Peach! Mario, don't watch it too much! You'll run into something, or possibly the booty itself! It's a priceless treasure!"

"...A part of me might regret bringing you along..." Peach mumbled as she hurried along with Mario in tow, her entire face being red. Luigi's was worse, as he himself was reluctantly dragged away by a laughing Daisy. Bowser and Rosalina were the ones remaining, the former sighing while pinching his snout.

"I think Wendy knew this was going to happen. She's more than happy letting the cards fall where they may...so long as _she's_ the one responsible for instigating them being dropped at all." Bowser muttered. "...Look. I'm gonna get real mad if I have to deal with multiple of these jerks looking at me with such suspicious looks when I'm trying to enjoy myself. So you're gonna walk with me, right next to me."

"Hm? I do not mind, Bowser. I suppose the reason is because of your previous antagonization of this location?"

"Yeah. That. Plus...having you around might keep me calm. I'm sure Junior will make his way back to you eventually, once he's done exploring. But for now...if I'm gonna have your company, I might as well make use of it. Maybe having someone as strong as you watching me will keep me from kicking all their butts."

"Hm...ease the tension caused by your presence. I believe I understand." Rosalina nodded, standing closer to Bowser. He was briefly confused, until his eyes widened at her simply grabbing his arm with both of her own, slightly hugging it. "I suppose this might serve as a bit of a repellant for such glares. Though I also suspect some negatives for this action as well...I prefer to keep close to you as well." Her eyes became slightly curious. "That is...if you'll allow me to."

"...Right, sure." Bowser muttered while looking away with a blush. Rosalina smiles gently as she begins pulling him along.

Kammy could see them off, smirking as she decided to follow them while also keeping a bit close to , Kenny, Toadsworth and Polari. She mentally praised Daisy for how easily she can catch onto mischief action, and play along. The Princesses and Mario Bros should offer some quality information as well. As for Bowser and Rosalina...well, those who call Kammy senile may not be too far off the market, but she still paid attention to things that interested her. For example, the moment, where Rosalina, Daisy, AND Peach changed into slightly more summer-esque clothes, and were each very beautiful indeed. While a fun treat, it wasn't what interested her.

It was Bowser getting a good look at Rosalina in her summer wardrobe. It was casual, but he was very entranced, almost unable to stop gazing at her longer than a few minutes, be it her beautiful face or her shapely legs; her lovely blond hair, her shining blue eyes. And those lovely hips that usually hinted at an exceptional backside, even though Peach was probably better in that specific regard; it definitely didn't take away from Rosalina's physical appeal, of course.

Kammy wouldn't criticize Bowser for staring, she never underestimated the power and influence of physical attraction too often, despite how many might say otherwise. It's usually a very important stage to recognize after all, and it's clear Rosalina is passing that quite effortlessly. There was one other sign that Rosalina has gained much of Bowser's attention. His eyes didn't dart to Peach during the exchange longer than needed. Most of his attention was on Rosalina.

 _Hm...Isle Delfino has plenty of beaches. Plenty of beaches means plenty of ocean. Plenty of heat. Plenty of beauties like myself. Plenty of chances for...yes. And that's just the beginning..._ Kammy grinned as she was currently reading a tours guide for the events to take part in various parts of the island. Her grin kept getting larger as she quietly brainstorms, until her teeth was becoming shown. _Oh yes, Kammy. This will do, this will do quite nicely. I shall contact Wendy, she'll want in on this...oh yes. Prepare for a VERY eventful and fun time here, Bowser...hehehe... **EEEEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHE!~**_

Bowser shivered. Even though he was positive there were no super hostile enemies here, he suddenly felt as if his was now in great danger...

* * *

 **The more cautious of our little group, as well as Isle Delfino residents, are mostly worried about the Koopalings or Bowser causing trouble. They should turn to the old Magikoopa they foolishly underestimate. As well as Wendy, who started the idea of this trip in the first place.**

 **... Bowser's not going to be relaxing in the usual way, is he?**

 **Probably not. But his mood might improve regardless, depending on how things go.**

 **Look forward to it, readers.~**

 **Daisy: I can finally fight alongside my precious Weegie! We're gonna be an unstoppable Smashing duo!**

 **Luigi: W-What?!**

 **Daisy: Don't worry Peach, you and Mario can be our partners too! We're gonna crush everyone and everything! We'll be the true winners of that multiverse tournament! Just watch!**

 **Peach: It will certainly be interesting. I'm a bit worried though...**

 **Bowser: ...What have they unleashed...? Stars help us all...**


	23. Beauties, Beasts, And Beaches

**The part where it's been exactly one year since this story started, and not at all was I expecting so much support for it.**

 **You're all quite amazing, readers. Thanks for reading, hope you keep doing so for the foreseeable future.**

 **Now then, let's jump into this.**

* * *

"Haah...this is exactly what I needed..." Wendy sighs happily as she placed her own pair of shades over her eyes and relaxed in a beach chair, shaded slightly by an umbrella. "You really should have told me about this place much sooner, Junior. This has to be one of the best vacation spots in a world!"

"Me and Dad kinda got banned from coming back. Plus several things that were involved, he didn't feel too proud talking about." Junior replies while scratching his head slightly. "To be honest, we didn't really think we'd be coming back here. But here we are...because you suggested it."

"Of COURSE I suggested it, little brother! Do you know how _exhausting_ it is to be a beautiful Koopa Princess like myself? The fabulousness you see before you is not so easily maintained! I have to properly recharge once in a while!"

"The only thing you're trying to recharge is your amazingly immense vanity." Ludwig rolled his eyes while reading a book nearby. Wendy didn't take too kindly to that.

"You're one to talk! How does all of you ego fit in that tiny little skull of yours?!"

"I tend to make arrangements for it every once in a while. File my thoughts in certain places while only opening them upon necessity." Ludwig huffed with a smirk. "Not that Daddy's Spoiled Little Princess would know anything about deep thinking.~"

Wendy slowly pulled her shades down, revealing a menacing blue glow behind them. "Come over here, Ludwig. I'll show you how spoiler I really am."

"Ah ah ah. We must behave, remember? That includes roughhousing. Don't tell me that the Princess isn't delicate enough to use words instead of violence.~" Ludwig too far too much joy in the annoyed look on Wendy's face. His book snapped shut and he stands on his feet. "Well, I'm going to go explore on my own, try some certain delicacies, the usual. I'll meet back up with you later...assuming you haven't gotten lost within the shine of a pearl.~"

"That swelled head is going to get you knocked across a continent one day..."

"I'll have the decency to send you a post card. Still more decent than you.~"

"Ugh!" Wendy snarled as Ludwig simply moved away. "Seriously, having Ludwig as a brother is just IMPOSSIBLE sometimes! Don't you think so too, Junior?"

Junior paused a bit as he looked up towards Wendy, with his mouth full of cantalope. While she and Ludwig had their squabble, he got bored and was now helping himself to some fruit. Sure meat and sweets endear the Koopa Heir so, but fruits like these tend to be super juicy and delicious. He swiftly swallows the rest while blinking. "Huh? Sorry, I wasn't listening."

"Is that all you have to say?!"

"...*Burp*."

Wendy groaned, throwing her paws up in surrender. _Tch. Brothers._ Though after a dull pause, she tilted her head. "Where'd you get that cantalope anyway...?"

"You kidding? Fruits are all over the place here! Why do you think there are so many Yoshis?"

"Fair point. Still. I want a bowl. You get one too. Might as well eat them right."

"Whatever you say..."

Soon enough, both of them had green and pink bowls in their paws filled with cantalope slice, and were eating them with their claws instead of forks. A bit messy, but they make it work out quite a bit. Wendy could use more days like this. Junior is usually bratty and uncooperative, but now he seems to really enjoy the prospect of relaxing with his only sister. It felt...nice.

"Hey, Wendy."

"Yeah?"

"Are those rumors really true about Papa and Princess Daisy?"

"About her slapping him so hard he got sent flying through the sky? Yeah they're true. I can understand you have a slightly difficult time believing that, though." It was true, Daisy tended to _look_ like a delicate easy to capture Princess. And indeed, she has been captured... _once._ Never again. And when Bowser started to talk smack to her, she smacked _him_ into the atmosphere. And ever since that day, she's never shut up about it whenever the two were together.

It became clear over time that Bowser would never live that down. Daisy is merciless enough to refuse it. All future captures were usually towards the significantly more delicate Princess Peach, which annoys Wendy a small bit due to an important detail: They _know_ that she CAN fight back if she really wanted to, because she has in the past both to resuce And that was the annoying part, she never disliked being kidnapped enough to hurt others trying to try and escape, not unless her Kingdom was in immediate, deadly serious danger.

No matter what, Peach is ultimately a pacifist. And whether everyone liked it or not, that would be a major factor towards her many kidnappings, so long as SHE was the one in danger and no one else, aside from the Mario Brothers trying to rescue her.

Wendy is fine with having something to do and all...but she really wished her father would just take the hint and move on. And Rosalina provided just the opportunity. Of course they cant force the issue too much. You don't just get over the infatuation Bowser had for Peach overnight. Even if Rosalina was mostly on his mind, Peach was definitely still somewhere around it as well.

"Oh..." Junior hummed while eating more of his fruit. "Do you think Mama Rosalina will really accept us in the end?"

"...What brought this on?"

"I mean...you and I...our brothers...Papa...we do a lot of bad stuff sometimes, and we usually enjoy it. But Mama Rosalina is a good person, and so she likes to do good. We're so used to being bad, though..." Junior said quietly. "...She won't hate us, will she...?"

"...Oh dear..." Wendy sighed as she sets her bowl of fruit down while turning fully towards Junior. "Listen up, little brother. Rosalina doesn't seem like the kind of woman who can muster up hate for anyone or anything. So I don't think you need to worry about that. Also, just because we do bad things, doesn't make us bad people that Rosalina will turn away from."

"It...it doesn't...?"

"No way. You've seen how caring and affectionate she's been towards you, towards us! Does she act like a person who might grow to hate us in the future?"

"...I guess not..."

"Well there you go. Nothing to worry about. Rosalina cares about us, and we care about her. There's nothing bad about that." Wendy smiled. "Trust the word of you're wise big sister on this, Junior. I know what I'm talking about.~"

"Somehow I knew you would turn this into a compliment for yourself..." Junior grumbled.

"Heh! Would you have expected any less of me? C'mere." Wendy chuckled as she scoots closer to Junior and pulls him into a hug. Junior froze a little bit, but relaxed and hugged her back, mindful of each other's spikes. Wendy would pull back slightly and plant a gentle kiss on Junior's cheek. "Right then, we good?"

"...Yeah. We're good."

"Good Prince. Now go play for a while, leave me to bask in the sun." Wendy says while patting his head. She blinked slightly as her wand began to rumble. Confused and curious, she summons it in her hand and listens intently. "Kammy? Yeah, I'm close by. Yeah...yeah...what? You wouldn't!...Oh you most certainly would...you're an evil old witch, aren't you?" Loud shouting could be heard, and she flinched away. "Ah! Alright alright, old is stretching it. So we meet up on the beach? This island has so many of them, though...oh? Ooohhh. Gotcha. Alright, buh-bye." She puts up her wand and sits up. "Change of plans. You're gonna go play with Mama Rosalina.~"

"Really?" Wendy thought how cute it was for Junior to perk up at that; his little tail as even wagging a bit. "But...wasn't that Kammy? What did she want?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just to meet up with her at the beach for some obvious beach fun."

 _Beach fun at Dear Daddy's expense...mehehehe~_

* * *

"ACHOO!" Bowser sneezed loudly while standing outside with the Mario Brothers. He grumbled while rubbing his nose. "Geez...I'm gettin' the feeling my troublemaking daughter and that witch Kammy are plotting behind my back..."

"What makes you say that?" Luigi asked.

"When you have a daughter as spoiled was Wendy, she tends to plot things to get her way. Kammy, on the other hand, is ALWAYS plotting. I can't let my guard down, even when they're not within my sights." Bowser grumbled while suspiciously looking around. "Kammy is definitely up to something. I just don't know what it is and how it's gonna affect me..."

"That's a little paranoid of you." Mario raised an eyebrow. "Last time I checked, Kammy was the one you always berated and insulted, outright disrespected, despite her unwavering devotion towards you."

"Yeah...now I gotta think twice about doing that kind of stuff...she's snuff it out." Devoted, Kammy still was. But a verbal and physical punching bag she was no longer. It takes a special kind of talent for a seemingly senile Magikoopa to instill fear in a Koopa King the way she does. He snorted and tapped his foot against the ground. "What's taking them so long, anyway? Surely it doesn't take that long for them to change?"

"Daisy and Rosalina? Not likely. Peach? Well...?" Mario rubbed his neck, faintly recalling the exchange:

 _"We're going to the beach!" Daisy pumped her fists excitedly. "Fun in the sun, bleat in the heat, land of the sand! My kind of place, obviously!~"_

 _"You do seem to really like it here, Daisy." Rosalina said with a soft smile._

 _"Course I do!" Daisy immediately came up on Peach's side and gripped her shoulders. "C'mon, Peach! Let's get you changed into your swimsuit righr away! Same for you, Rosalina!~"_

 _"Very well.~"_

 _"W-Wait, what?! Swimsuits? So soon?!" Peach stammered with a mild blush on her cheeks. "I...I don't know about that..."_

 _"Come ON, Peach! Show some bravery, some confidence in your feminine wiles!" Daisy said strongly. "How are others supposed to appreciate your fantastic figure if you don't show it off more often?"_

 _"I wasn't aware that was something I needed to take into account..."_

 _"Listen, it's gonna be FINE. You're a grand specimen of beauty, or whatever they say regarding that stuff. Plus, you wanna look nice and relaxed for Mario, don't you?"_

 _"...I suppose you have a point there."_

 _"Of COURSE I do! That's what makes me so awesome!~" Daisy beamed. "Alright then, let's get changed so that we don't waste too much time. Rosalina, you coming with?"_

 _"Why of course.~" Rosalina smiles softly as she followed the other two women to the changing room..._

"Kammy must have put that desert flower up to this. She has to have done it." Bowser grumbled with folded arms. "...Maybe it's not too late to run off and eat some meat..."

"Come on. That's rude even for you. Just stick around and bear it. We'll even help you out. You know...as long as it doesn't involve setting things on fire."

"..."

"...Wait. You were actually thinking about setting something on fire?!" Luigi piped up.

"...It would be a good distraction for my escape..."

"THE ATTENTION WOULD IMMEDIATELY BE ON YOU!"

"Heeeeeey hey now! What's with all the shouting, Weeeegieeee?~"

Luigi blinked and turned around. "Daisy-"

"DAISY DIVEBOMB!"

 _ **SLAM!**_

"AAAHOHOOO!" Luigi howled as a flash of yellow and orange suddenly jumped from above and slammed into him like a fireball, causing the duo to roll several times before stopping on the sand, flat on his back. "Ugh...what the heck...?"

"Wahoo! That was close! You caught me, Luigi!~" Daisy chuckled while smiling widely at him. Luigi would have been slightly annoyed with her, only to sigh and accept her gratitude for 'catching' her...but then he noticed he felt most of her skin. And the reason for _that_ was that she wore a two-piece bikini that was yellow orange with flower designs of the same color. Which means...Luigi, against his wishes, looked down a bit to see what was squished against his own chest in plain view.

...Daisy really was the biggest of the three princesses. She seemed proud of it, too.

 _N-No! Look away! Look away! Don't...well, maybe just a li-NO! AWAAAYYYY!_

Quickly regathering his nerves, Luigi turned away, looking red all over. Daisy, feeling rather satisfied with being the cause of the reaction, eventually eases off of him and helped him to his feet. "Sorry I took so long. Peach was being difficult, ya know? But I'm ready now!~" She hopped with glee.

"It's...it's fine." Luigi found his voice and refocused, trying his best to ignore Daisy's...apparent bounciness accompanied with the hops. The smug smile on her face told him she was well aware of what was happening, which only heightened his embarrassment. Though, the energetic Princess she was, Daisy turned to a different topic.

"HEY! Peach, stop stalling! Get your butt out here where we can all see and admire it!~"

"Why must you phrase it like that...?" Peach whimpered as Rosalina was gently pulling her out. "And Rosalina, why are you helping her?!"

"I discovered that things will progress more smoothly if we simply play along. And right now I'm genuinely having fun.~" Rosalina smiled.

"At the expense of my embarrassment?"

"...Will you be upset if I confirmed that's part of the appeal?"

"Why me..." Peach mumbled with a squiggly mouth. She was wearing a pink flowered two-piece like Daisy, but she had a short skirt wrapped around lower half. It was somewhat conservative, but it also somewhat showed the shapely enticement of her hips.

...Mario certainly took notice. Though he blew it off when he turned to the side and began whistling at nothing.

Bowser did looked a bit intrigued by Peach-there's still some lingering there, he still genuinely thought of her as beautiful-but his focus was once again captured by Rosalina's visage. Her swimwear was quite similar, as they were blue with sparkling gold stars decorated around them. She wore a swim wrap around her waist like Peach, and it was sparkling blue with gold glitter. It was also longer, reaching to her ankles, though one smooth, long leg would be mostly exposed due to it. Somehow, combined with her lock of hair in front of her face, and her overall mature composure, somehow added to her beauty and grace.

His dumbstruck look, followed by steam blowing from his nostrils, betrayed his silence.

"Bowser?" Rosalina brought him out of his thoughts, and he knew he was caught when she folded her arms under her chest and tilted her head curiously. "You haven't said anything for a bit. Has my form really enticed you so? I'm quite flattered.~"

And of course, being the most mature didn't mean she couldn't be playful. Forgetting this cost Bowser dearly, hence the blush on his face.

"Yes. I mean no! I-I mean, probably...? I mean...GAH! I don't know what I mean!" Bowser snarled, bonking his head with both his fists. "Make up your mind, brain! You're making me look like an idiot!"

"You manage that pretty well on your own." Kammy cackled, flying above them with amused glee. "Alrighty then! Enough stalling! Time to hit the beach my beautiful lovelies!"

"Agreed! Let's go, Luigi!~"

"Okay..." Luigi smiled nervously as he was dragged away by a fist-pumping Daisy. Any male passerby would probably consider the man lucky due to how beautiful she was. Peach, Bowser and Mario, who knew her better than most, sometimes pitied him because of how little he's able to keep up with her. Mario and Peach quietly followed behind, the former trying not to focus on the graceful hip swaying of the latter.

Rosalina meanwhile tapped Bowser on the shoulder, smiling kindly. "Let's enjoy ourselves, Bowser. That is why we're here." She nods once, before moving on to join the others. Bowser sighed once before moving to join her as well, but was stopped by another approaching princess.

"Hello, Daddy Dearest.~" Wendy hummed, with Junior running ahead towards Rosalina. "You should take Rosalina's advice. She's a very smart lady.~"

"I know you had something to do with this, Wendy. I just don't know how." Bowser deadpanned.

"I don't know what you mean.~" Wendy casually takes a long sip from a fruit smoothie, then sighing pleasantly. "Beauties and Beasts are allowed to have fun at the beast, Daddy. And I consider myself a Beautiful Beast. Don't you consider yourself one as well?~"

Bowser had no answer.

"And so here we are, Beauties and Beasts, having fun at the Beach. Sounds like a grand time, doesn't it?"

Bowser grumbled, scratching the back of his head. "You're quite a troublesome daughter..."

"Love you too.~" Wendy beamed. She snapped her fingers as two Koopas appeared at her side, and began fanning her with large leaves. She then struts forward, while acting like she owns the whole island. Bowser sighed, knowing that he instilled that kind of pride within her. And she was a mischievous one, definitely scheming with Kammy behind his back.

This was going to be quite a time...

* * *

 **Wendy is a caring sister after, but still scheming for mischief. And that mischief proves inevitable with Kammy as her partner in crime.**

 **The ladies are quite beautiful, aren't they? Though Peach is of course the most shy of the trio. Rosalina is slightly neutral on the matter, but is having fun. And Daisy...**

 **...Well. She's Daisy. That kinda speaks for itself. Huh.**

 **More vacation times ahead! Next time!**


	24. Hijinks and Bright Cheeks

**The part where the Princesses are beautiful, the guys are flustered, Bowser and Rosalina playfully banter, and Junior is adorable.**

 **Also, Peach is very embarrassed, Rosalina is chill, Wendy is mischievous yet kind, Kammy is mischievous but wise, and Daisy...**

 **...Well...she's Daisy. Th** **is was rated-T for a reason...I have no idea what it is.**

 **Not a single clue...**

* * *

 _This is my life now, apparently. I dunno how it happened, but this is essentially my life right now._

Bowser thought while running his paw through his hair and gazing at the gathering scene before him Everything was being set up right nicely and orderly, with everyone pitching in through some way or another. Many koopas, goombas, and magikoopas were helping setting several things up and making sure everything in place.

...Though several of their key males were a bit... _distracted_ by some of their guests.

"Why must you be so modest, Peach? I know you're a pretty tough Princess. _You_ know that you're a pretty tough Princess. Don't be ashamed of reminding yourself once in a while!~" Daisy chirps cheerily as she was lightly poking Peach in her chest, causing a slight gasp.

"C-Cut that out! Not only is that rude...but it also tickles..." Peach grumbled while pulling back from Daisy's touch and covering her chest with a bright blush. "Besides, I wouldn't feel so nervous about acknowledging how pretty I am if I was a bit more modest...I'm in a bikini, Daisy! That's...one of the least modest attires to wear in the history of attires!" She soon pouted adorably while looking around. "I haven't had much time to get used to being exposed like this..."

"You're wearing a sarong, which gives quite a bit of cover around your thighs...heck, yours is shorter than Rosalina's, which means the mentality is in there somewhere! Ah whatever, I'll take what I can get." Daisy shrugged. "I'm used to being more exposed. My Kingdom is within a desert, so I suppose it's just me having more time than you did."

"Aren't you more resistant to desert heat though?"

"I am. But it feels a bit nicer when I don't have a hot as heck dress on during the occasional intense heat wave."

"I...suppose that's reasonable."

"I knew you'd see _something_ my way. Besides, it isn't like we're the only ones to appreciate it." Daisy suddenly whistles-without warning Peach, thus slightly hurting her ears-and waves over to the Mario Bros. "Yooohoooo! _Boooyyyys!~_ "

"...She's calling for us, bro. I'm a bit nervous to turn around." Luigi whispered to Mario.

"Unfortunately only worse things will happen if we blatantly ignore her." Mario replied back.

"So...do we turn?"

"For better or worse...I'd rather not see how _Daisy_ can get worse."

"That's a fair point..."

"Yeah..."

With quite a degree of reluctance, the Mario Bros turned around to see what Daisy wanted...they soon had a decent idea as to what that is. Daisy was the one who was quite intentionally posing for Luigi, slightly leaning to the side while turned slightly. Then she just as intentionally licks her thumb and sticks it to her butt, resulting in a slight 'tsss' along with actual smoke. The audacity put a dark shade of red both on Luigi and Peach's faces. Mario rubbed his chin while leaning towards Luigi.

"Hey...she tends to do that whenever she scores a major win in soccer, right?"

"Yeah...she does..." Luigi turned away while holding his nose. "I have no idea why...really, I don't...'

"D-Daisy! Have you no shame?!" Peach gasped in shock once again.

"Nope! Not today!~" Daisy grinned brightly.

"Goodness, show _some_ restraint! I can't do these things as freely as you!" Peach pouted at her once again. Though during her slight rant, she failed to notice she was hugging her chest a bit too tightly, which resulted in her admirable bust being pushed up slightly. She looked towards the boys again, only to blink in confusion as Mario was turned away and whistling the day away once again. "Mario...is something the matter...?"

"...Nope. Everything is fine." Mario mumbled while trying not to focus on her chest, so he went to her legs...a mistake, he was blushing harder now. Now back to her hips and midriff...also a mistake, even more blush. Trying once more, he focused on her flowing golden hair, as well as her shining sea blue eyes. The blue eyes captured him the most, as they were filled with life, curiosity, and all-loving kindness, as well as a great inner strength that too many tend underestimate. This relaxed him slightly, and even caused him to smile. "You look beautiful, Princess Peach."

"U-Um...thank you, Mario.~"

Meanwhile Luigi was still debating on whether or not he should turn back around and gaze towards Daisy. He eventually decided to chance it and look towards the tomboy princess...yup. She still had that incredibly flirtatious look in her eye, her eyes also being blue and also possessing inner strength. There was a highly passionate competitive streak within them, which also matched the fiery color of her hair, even though it was more of a reddish brown, but still, they reflected her free spirit. She relishes in the attention she gets when she competes and wins, but she only truly cares about the thoughts of her loved ones. Her fire provides light, protecting her friends and burning all who intend to harm them. Daisy was strong, stronger than most would know. She just hasn't had many chances to show it outside of competition. He, Mario, Luigi, and Peach knew her strength better than anyone else, and she was strong in many ways.

Luigi would smile and scratch his ear. "You look amazing, Daisy."

"D'awww, thanks Weegiee!~"

Bowser huffed at the two of them, before he turned towards a certain galactic princess staring out into the ocean. He didn't move towards her, simply admiring her from where he stood. She watched the ocean waves come to and from her, the water occasionally reaching her feet. Her hands were clasped behind her back as her blonde hair flew freely with the coming winds. Her lengthy sarong joined with the gentle dance of the wind, with slight sparkles and star bits emitting from her body as well. And while he did think of her physical form as attractive, highlighting her as a mature woman than Peach-said sarong still left enough view for one long, smooth leg; an admirable bust, curvy hips-he wasn't entirely focused on that since it's usually all hidden under her dresses. He was a bit more lost within the majestic aura she carried with every movement, the wisdom she carried with almost every action she took that wasn't entirely playful, and the calm mature kindness she holds that balances his fiery temper, and might even overwhelm it...

 _She's beautiful..._

"Thank you."

"G-GAH!" Bowser gasped as Rosalina suddenly turned towards him with a knowing smile on her face. He blushed deeply while stomping the ground. "W-What did I tell you about that whole telepath junk! S-S-Stupid Space Girl! Galactic Annoyance! Cosmic Pain in the butt!"

"Ooh. Such creative names today.~" Rosalina chuckled.

Bowser groaned, facepalming. "It's not fair. You're always so calm. So frustratingly chill." He looked back on his clash with Dry Bowser, and how quickly Rosalina lost patience with him...and even then she didn't raise her voice too much. "Even when you get legitimately angry when standing up for her friends, you're still tranquil about it. How do you do it?"

"Years of practice."

"How does...oh." Rosalina was centuries old at the least, including several rebirths of the universe. She only recently began directly interacting with Mushroom World.

"...So we have confirmed that my visage _does_ indeed captivate you. Very good to know." Rosalina said with a sly smile. "Do I have permission to be flattered now, King Bowser?~"

"...You've acquired a taste for messing with me, and I feel like I'm at a major disadvantage." Bowser muttered, folding his arms and turning away with a mild blush. "Fine. I will admit that your beauty does contain some charm to it, lots of it. Will you ease up now that I've admitted that?"

"A bit." Rosalina chuckled into her hand. "Apologies. It appears I've grown a habit for teasing you. You have this sura of cuteness around when you're flustered.~"

"W-Wha?! Preposterous! The King of Great Koopa Klan is NOT cute!"

"Oh?" Rosalina tilted her head. "I'm quite certain that Junior inherited quite a bit of your cuteness. Actually...it's more than that, Junior is adorable."

"Hey, hey now! Junior is a very strong inheritor of the Koopa Klan's will. He's gonna be strong, he's gonna be smart, and he's gonna awesome. But he will NOT be adorable." Bowser harrumphed. "A great future King of the Koopas is not meant to be adorable!"

"Mama Rosalina!" Junior came running over to the two of them, lifting his paws up to Rosalina while standing on his toes. "Look Look! I found several seashells on the beach! These shiny ones are for you!~"

"Oh my. These do have quite the shine on them. Must be due to the Shine Sprites." Rosalina smiles as she accepts the gift he presented her, then reached down to affectionately pet his head. "This was quite a wonderful find, Junior. Good job!~" Junior beamed proudly at the praise while cheerfully wagging his tail and nuzzling into her hand. "I'll be sure to hold onto them. We'll join you in a moment, you can go on ahead without us."

"Okay!~" Junior chirped while turning around and leaping off to join his siblings.

Rosalina turned around towards Bowser, smiling quietly towards him with a calm 'I told you so' vibe. The fact that it was given without any malice irritated him, enough for him to pout childishly.

"...That was simply him completing a mission he deemed important. Doesn't count in the slightest."

"I'm quite certain of that, Bowser."

"I'm serious!"

"As am I, Bowser."

"Darn it, I really do mean it!"

"Mhm.~"

"Don't get all sing-song about it!"

"I have no idea what you mean.~" Rosalina chuckles as she moves on from him, going on to rejoin Junior. Bowser grumbled while pinching the bridge of his nose.

 _This woman is gonna drive me crazy..._

 ** _SMACK!_**

"OW!"

"Oi! Pops! Watch yer head!" Roy called out as the frisbee he threw bounced off Bowser's head, right back into his paw. "Ya gotta dodge when a flyin' disc comes at you at such a speed!" Roy lightly lowered his shades with raised eyebrows. "Ya do know what _dodgin'_ is, don't ya?"

"Dad's not too good at dodging. He's much better at tanking, which includes tanking blows to his body and ego.~" Iggy chuckled.

"Tch..."

"Having a good time, Daddy Dearest?" Wendy called out, a giant leaf providing her shade, her sunglasses covering her eyes, with a strawberry smoothie in her paw. "The girls are so beautiful today, aren't they?"

"Indeed they are! I still tend to outrank them slightly, though. Kehahaha!~" Kammy laughed uproariously, snapping her fingers. "Hey, Kamek! Mind fannin' a bit faster?"

"Why am I doing this...?" Kamek groaned in annoyance while continuing to fan Kammy, and several Koopas and Goombas fanned Wendy.

"Because that's what a gentleman magikoopa does. You ARE a gentleman, _right_ Kamek?~" The silent threat made him fan faster.

"D'oh..."

"Anyway, are you having fun, Daddy? I'm certainly having fun.~" Wendy cooed while sipping from her smoothie. She tilted her head, before setting it down on a small Goomba. "A bit too bland. Bring it back with a bit more...of a flair to it.~" The Goomba would waddle off, obeying the Princess's orders.

"You too are having far too much fun with this. Why's it gotta be at my expense, huh?" Bowser grumbled.

"It's far too interesting to see how you get through it all." Kammy admitted. "Admit it. Deep down, you're having a bit of fun too. Isn't this so much better and more relaxing than racking your brain for weeks trying to come up with another troublesome scheme of yours to conquer Mushroom Kingdom?"

"I...I suppose I can't deny the enjoyment for the change of pace..." Bowser grumbled.

"Go on and keep having fun, Daddy Dearest. I'll just be here enjoying the sun, and the smooth, falm movement of the ocean waves.~" The Goomba came back to Wendy. She takes the glass, as well as a gentle sip. Her eyes sparkled. "Wow! Sparkling Strawberry Smoothie! Well done!~"

"I prefer the Blueberry Fruit Smoothie myself." Ludwig said while passing by, lightly tapping Bowser's paw. "I wish you luck, Father."

"...Ngh...fine. We aren't done talking though." Bowser folded his arms as he turned around and moved back to join the others.

Kammy turned towards Wendy. "We're not done messing with your father, are we?"

"No way. I'm having fun with this as well. I won't end it so easily."

"Are ya sure? Bowser might take quite a chunk outta your allowance for helpin' me mess with him so much.~" Kammy grins mischievously.

Wendy lifted her shades again. In the not-too-far distance, Bowser has rejoined Rosalina and Junior. Junior happily holds Rosalina's hand in one paw, and Bowser's paw in the other. Bowser was flustered, though he then grumbled and simply went with it since Junior seemed happy. Rosalina smiles softly as the trio continued onward to join their friends.

"Ya know what you always tend to say? 'There's more valuable things in life than money.' Me being the greedy, spoiled little princess, I didn't really believe you. Though I see my family having a good time, having a jolly time with my frenemies, my baby brother's the happiest he's ever been in years, and Daddy...has a new opportunity in front of him..and slowly becoming more willing to take it, and thus be a much happier Koopa..." Wendy smiles and lowers her shades, taking a relaxed sip from her smoothie. "I think I've finally changed my mind."

Kammy's mischievous smile slowly turned into a warm and proud one.

"Very good, Princess. Very good..."

* * *

 **I'm doing much more with the likes of Wendy and Kammy than I thought I would. I don't think that's bad. Just unexpected.**

 **I'm a bit happy with it, to be totally honest.**


	25. (Almost) Friendly Beach Volleyball

**The one where the gang tries to play friendly beach volleyball.**

 **...Key word 'tries'.**

* * *

"Allllllright! Here we go! Latest activity!" Daisy grinned widely as she slowly held something up with her hand for everyone to see. "That's right. It's volleyball time!~"

"Oh no..." Mario half-groaned. Volleyball with Daisy on the court was energetic, it was loud, and it was genuinely fun and pretty engaging when they really start to get into it. Though there was definitely one certain thing that is a constant throughout those matches.

...They were PAINFUL. Not even Bowser could be as intense as her during volleyball, at least when Mario wasn't currently playing. The only thing worse than volleyball was dodgeball, where they're given full consent to hit each other with heavy rubber sports balls.

When either Bowser or Daisy are on the court, said court turns into a _battlefield._

"Heeeeeh? Whaddya mean 'oh no'? You're acting like me leading the charge in volleyball matches is dangerous for your health or something."

"Weeelll..."

" _Mario..._ "

"To be completely fair..."

 _ **"Mario..."**_

"You can get a _little_ bit intense...during any sport we play, really."

"Whaaaaaaaaat?"

Peach nervously twiddled her fingers. "It doesn't really help your case that other players get a little nervous whenever you start playing...they don't really match your...excitement for sports."

"What also doesn't help is your seeming inability to play the blasted sport with an indoor voice." Bowser grumbled.

Daisy scoffed with closed eyes. "Of course not! Pfft, what do you take me for?! Sports like these only need to be driven by one thing." Her eyes widened, and flames danced behind them. "The only thing you need...is _**SPIRIT!**_ " To demonstrate, she threw the ball up and smacked her palm against it as a bit of practice running.

 _ **SMACK!**_

"... _Why me...?_ " Kamek whined in pain as he was knocked over and fallen on his side, his hat knocked off his head and his leaf fan out of his hands.

"Oi! Kamek! You still alive over there?" Bowser said with a raised eyebrow.

"...I'm...alright enough...Your Muscleness..."

Bowser snorted, steam emitting from his nostrils as he folded his arms. "Good. Oi! Kammy, Wendy! Quit picking on Kamek for a while! He's on vacation too, ya know!"

"...Oh fine, I've had my fun with him for the day." Wendy hummed, snapping her fingers as Kamek was now upright and cleaned up as shapes surrounded him. A sack of coins appeared in his paws as well. "Daddy's decided to give you some leeway, Kamek. Go treat yourself to something nice, on me."

Kamek comically teared up at this, bowing profusely in gratitude. "Thank you for your kindness, Princess Wendy!" He sobbed before running off, leaving a trail of tears in his wake. He must have really wanted this break, and takes it as if his life depended on it, so takes it he shall.

"What a brave Magikoopa he is...so strong, so enduring, determined to survive until the next tomorrow..." Luigi said with tears running down his face.

"He'll be fine. Kamek's tougher than he looks." Bowser huffed. "Hey! Are we gonna play volleyball or what?!"

"Yeah yeah, let's do this!" Daisy pumped her fists. "Three on Three! I pick Mario and Luigi~" Daisy says as she swiftly appeared neck to Luigi, hugging him tightly and making him blush. "Say your prayers! This team is unbeatable!~"

"We're doomed." Mario sighed with a slight facepalm.

"Unbeatable team? Hmmm...if you don't mind, I'm willing to accept that challenge." Rosalina smiles with a gentle nod. She turned to Peach and Bowser. "Would you two do me the courtesy of being on my team? I promise not to slow you down."

"Oh no, you don't have to worry about slowling us down! If there's anyone I'm worried about being slower, it's me." Peach said as she stretched her arms with a slight grunt.

"Nonsense. I've seen you in competitions similar to this, I've _competed_ against you in several of them, and with you in others. You're plenty capable." Rosalina smiled as she lightly stretched her legs.

Both of them were stretching in preparation of the incoming volleyball game...right in front of Bowser. He kept taking deep breaths and whistling, folding his arms and looking away from them with a huff. They weren't distracting, not in the slightest. There's no way they could distract him. Physical beauty couldn't enrapture him so much that h-

Dang it, he peeped. He's _still_ peeping.

Shame, lots of shame filled the Koopa King's being. No regret, but plenty of shame.

"ALRIGHT! LET'S DO THIS!" Daisy cheered with her arms up and the ball in her hands. "Our tesm goes first! SEEEERRRRRRRVE!" Daisy shouts again as she throws the ball up and slams it over the net, and watching it soar past them...smacking a Paratroopa out of the sky. They both fell down back to the ground, with the ball landing on the sand and the Paratroopa landing facefirst. "Alllright! First point goes to us!"

"I'm fairly sure that's not how this works..." Mario deadpanned.

Bowser snarled as he clenched his paws. "Alright then, Miss Golden Flower. Now it's my turn."

"Y...Your turn...?" Peach smiled a bit nervously.

"Oh dear. I do believe that Bowser is about to get serious." Rosslina smiled in amusement.

"The competitive beast has finally reared his flaming head. This is something that I must observe for myself." Ludwig smiled, sitting back with one leg crossed over the other.

Bowser glared as he tossed the ball up and smacked it towards the other side with ferocious force. Daisy glared back as she jumped up and smacked it back. Bowser jumps up and returns the strike ones again, with the ball gaining a bit more momentim this time. Daisy gasped as the ball soared over her head, bounced off a tree, bounced back, and smacked her upside the head, making jer stumble forward and fall facefirst into the sand.

"Oohhhh noooo..." Luigi whispered in despair as he hid his face under his hat.

"Oooh! This is gonna get ugly! I like it!~" Kammy cackled while sipping a new smoothie a Goomba brought her.

Daisy lifted her head from the sand, her face covered in it as she glared at Bowser with glaring intensity. "You wanna play rough, huh? Fine!" She jumped up, ball following her, and slammed the ball downwards with her palm.

 _ **BAM!**_

"OW!" Bowser roared as he stumbled back while holding his snout. He lifted his paws a bit to see the damage. He gasped and glared at Daisy, steam leaving his nostrils. "You stupid desert cactus! How dare you mess up this handsome mug?!"

"I consider it a lovely addition to your face. Now it's just as big and stupid as the rest of you. It's a wonder that maidens tend to run away from you really fast.~" Daisy giggled menacingly.

"Big and stupid, huh?! I'll have you know that I have a very intelligent brain-thing that helps me come up with great schemes all the time! None of which involves you, stupid yellow cactus, since you're always lying on the backburner compared to Peach!"

Daisy's eyes twitched violently. Bowser glared and growled. Sparks ignited between them as flames gathered around the makeshift court.

"Oh dear..." Peach said slowly while stepping back with the others, who were simply waiting for the fireworks to start.

"This getting exciting! We'd better watch from a safe distance, though..." Iggy chuckled as he and the other Koopalings stepped back.

 _"I'M GONNA BEAT THE CACTUS/KOOPA OUTTA YOU!"_ Bowser and Daisy shouted in unison and sharing comical razor teeth, which soon turned into an intense struggle for power as they were serving the volleyball so fast between them that it appeared as a blur.

"Oh my, how intense.~" Rosalina giggled. She was worried at first, but she sensed no genuine malevolence between them. Intense annoyance, but no hate. They both just _**REALLY**_ hated losing.

"P-Please, you two! Settle down! This is getting way out of control very quickly...!" Peach attempted to placate them, sadly to no avail, as she and Rosalina were both being 'observed' by various passerbys for how beautiful they were, and others watched Daisy because her intensity had it's own allure to it.

"...Yep. I'm gonna just hide. Lemme know when the rampage is over." Luigi decided calmly as he quickly dug into the sand and them buried himself in it, leaving only his nose so he could breathe.

Meanwhile Mario sighed with folded arms as he observed the intense volleyball battle between Daisy and Bowser. On one hand, he was annoyed that they somehow got into another fight through volleyball, and wanted to stop it. On the other hand; the hot-blooded, competitive side of him couldn't help but think:

 _We didn't get to play...that looks really fun, too..._

* * *

 **Daisy and Bowser just cannot help but press each other's buttons. Relentlessly.**

 **It's one of their favorite means of communication, really. Peach, Mario, and Luigi are exasperated. Rosalina's having a blast.**

 **Welp, next time we'll move away from the beach and onto other things.**

 **...Prepare yourselves. I'm gonna try and up the cuteness a bit, and try and feature the other Koopalings a bit more. And the Lumas too.**

 **Until then!**


	26. A Night of Bonds

**Been away from this story for a while, so let's try making up for it with the longest chapter yet.**

 **To sum up my feelings regarding things Mario related throughout the months:**

 **Smash Bros Ultimate looks amazing as expected. ULTIMATE!**

 **And...Bowsette. That is all. Bowsette. The one who took over the internet for a long while, complete with legit cosplay and some fanart...most not exactly family friendly.**

 **Bowser: We do not speak of this here.**

 **But-**

 **Bowser: *Deep Blush* WE. DO. NOT. _SPEAK OF IT!_**

* * *

Bowser and Daisy were grumbling even as they made their way from the beach, with the latter putting her dress back on, patting it down a bit before huffing and folding her arms. The former grumbled while folding his own arms and turning away from her. Their intense volleyball match ended in a draw, neither being the victor of their newly invigorated spat. Though at some point, they eventually decided to settle down and listen to their observers-only after they completely destroyed the ball, there's only so much that a combined assault of Daisy and Bowser strikes before it finally gave out and completely self destructs-and relax a little.

Everyone was more than a little bit relieved, yet also disappointed.

"That was far too intense..." Luigi shook slightly.

"We didn't even get to play..." Peach twitched her eye in slight annoyance while keeping her somewhat balanced smile.

"At least their destruction stopped before it escalated." _I wanted to join in..._ Mario pouted.

"I for one had quite a fun time observing the two of them. They have quite a passionate relationship." Rosalina smiles calmly.

"I'm...well...passionate is definitely _one_ way to word it..."

"What phrasing would you use, Mario?"

"I'd say a pair of Bo-ombs headbutting each other while arguing over who can make the bigger and louder explosion..."

"And may you mind, that is the TAMEST way for him to phrase it." Luigi sighed. "If it weren't for various different factors, I'd say Bowser hated Daisy more than he hated Mario, which would be a REALLY big accomplishment. I'm not even on that level despite always adventuring with Mario."

"He DID begin loathing you enough to properly remember your name, bro."

" _Please_ don't try to make me feel proud of that..."

"You boys are overexaggerating things." Peach waved her hand. "As much of a troublemaker as he is, Bowser doesn't _**hate**_ any of us. We just...have very different perspectives on how to go about our lives, is all. Would you invite him to alo of those go-kart races if you actually hated him, Mario?"

"...No." Mario dipped his cap slightly. He invited the Koopa King to these things so as to be polite. Those days are where the more intense parts of their rivalry takes a back seat so they can sit back and chill with their friends.

"Exactly. As much as our tendency to antagonize each other may make us consider otherwise, Bowser IS our friend. Mostly during the times he actually behaves himself, but he is our friend. Therefore, as much as most might disagree, Bowser deserves to have fun just as much as the rest of us."

"I agree quite highly." Rosalina smiles kindly.

"Okie-Dokie. I'm fine with it." Mario said with a thumbs up.

"So am I! As long as I'm...ya know...not within 'punching face' distance, I'll be fine." Luigi smiled a bit uneasily.

Within hearing distance, Bowser and Daisy heard the whole thing. Both of them were now pulling back and looking towards the ground in a slight bit of shame.

"Darn it. I feel like a jerk now..."

"Even more than usual?" Daisy scoffed. She yelped as Bowser hurriedly grabbed her by the sides and carried her a fair distance away, before setting her back down. "HEY! WHAT'S THE BIG-"

"A moment. Just for a Kooping moment, Desert Flower. I need you to _ZIP IT_." Bowser said, gesturing the action across his maw. Daisy harrumphed and folded her arms, waiting for him to continue. "Good. Now listen: This back and forth between you and me? At least for the duration of this trip, it's gotta stop. Seriously, both of us need to knock it off at SOME point."

"What's this 'both of us' nonsense?"

"I'm not as stupid as you might _think_ I am. I KNOW you're getting a kick outta provoking me, but I'm not helping the situation by repeatedly responding how I usually do...which is volcanic rage that can level a mountain." Bowser huffed while folding his arms as well. "I brought my family along so they can have a good time on vacation, and I mean that with all my heart. Just like you wanted to go on vacation so you could spend time with your friends and your precious Green Stache, Luigi."

"...What's your point...?" Daisy grumbled childishly, mildly blushing at the last part.

"What we need to do, is agree to a truce." Bowser muttered. "Because if we keep coming at each other like we did with the volleyball thing, the likely scenario is that they're gonna ditch the both of us for a couple days until we cool off. I don't have the time or patience for that, and neither do you. But most importantly, it would mean that we'd both ruin this trip for everyone. And since I'm not feeling very evil today, I don't wanna be the cause of that."

"So...what do you suggest?"

"Hate each other...silently."

"What?"

"We don't directly antagonize each other while they're within hearing and seeing distance. It's just as obvious that we can't _force_ ourselves to like each other, but we CAN hold ourselves back so we don't ruin everyone else's fun. We don't bicker, we don't fight, we don't do ANYTHING that might give them the idea that we could ruin all of this for them." He lowered his eyes. "I ain't a completely bad guy, ya know. I DO want the others to enjoy themselves. Don't you?"

Daisy thought it over for a moment, and then a moment more since she saw that the look in Bowser's eyes and the tone of his voice both indicated that he was serious. As such, she sighed in resignation. "Peach did want to show me why she enjoyed Isle Delfino so kuch after your defeat...I haven't really been doing much to honor that wish. Dang it now I feel terrible too..."

"Whaddya say, Desert Flower? Truce?" Bowser said gruffly while holding out his larger paw.

Daisy would gaze at it, then back into Bowser's eyes. With another reluctant sigh, she reached out and grabbed his larger paw, both of them shaking in unison. "Alright, we have ourselves a truce."

"Hm." Both of them nodded as they both turned and made their way back for the others, Bowser's thundering steps greatly contrasting Daisy's more delicate steps.

"...Soooo...I'm not the only one who noticed how plump Peach's butt is, right?"

"It's rather hard not to, with the outfits she occasionally wears to emphasize it."

"I know, right?!~"

Peach, currently not within hearing distamce, didn't understand why she suddenly felt like crying out in complete embarrassment...

* * *

"Mama!"

"Mama..."

" _Mama!~_ "

"Mama Rosalina!~"

Rosalina was met with quite a flurry of Lumas that reached out towards her in a very affectionate manner, with Junior finishing with a jump and a hug, which she gently caught him, and patted his uead, as well as the other Lumas, with a warm and welcoming warm smile.

Ludwig raised an eyebrow in suspicion as he saw Bowser and Daisy eventually come back in, both seeming to have calmed down. In fact, they didn't seem as virtriol as they were several moments before. But he then took a look towards their eyes, and could see that the fire aimed towards each other was still very much there...but they have apparently decided to push it aside. He could deduce that they were doing so for their sake. Sake of Bowser's children and sake of Daisy's friends. Not to mention their dates.

Yes, this was a date at this point. Bowser could fool the others, but he and Wendy catch on quickly to these kinds of things. Because the former is smart like that and Wendy is a self-admitted sucker for things of this nature.

Ludwig hummed as Rosalina eventually came over to pat his head a little. He chuckled while looking up to her. "It seems that those two have made up for the most part. I don't think that we'll be experiencing any more serious interruptions from them, I don't think."

"Ah. I suppose that's a nice change of pace. They don't seem to hate each other, as Peach suggested. Simply a difference in perspectives." Rosalina smiles politely while another Luma flew close to her and nuzzled her cheek. She gently pats their head in response. "Anyway, it's lovely they're on friendly terms now. I can understand their fiery competitiveness. They don't seem to enjoy losing."

"Not even a little." Lemmy bounced a bit on a summoned yellow star ball.

"Pops havin' been bested by the stache duo for so long has left em' with a very immense drive to win over em' at _somethin'._ After all, they've been at each other for quite a while." Roy huffed while adjusti g his shades. "Pride is a bit of a big thing for him, ya see?"

"Indeed I do." Rosalina smiled in amusement.

"If anything, that's what they most have in common. They hate to lose." Morton added with a slightly tilted head. "Maybe they came to an understanding over that?"

"I guess they could have. Or they might soon. Who really knows but then?" Iggy shrugged. "Whatever whatev's, with a hint of ever whats! Let's keep going!~"

"None of that made since, you doofus." Wendy rolled her eyes.

In the meantime, Luigi sighed while temporarily removing his hat from his head. "Even in the cool evening it's still kinda hot. That's kinda unfair..." Luigi grumbled while scratching his head. "I wonder if-"

"LUIIIIGIII!"

"Wa-"

 _Boing~_

Daisy had went ahead and glomped Luigi unexpectedly, pulling his ahead against her chest. The suddeness of it all greatly caught him off-guard.

 _BWAAAH?!_

"I'm so sorry, Luigi! I kept letting my grudge-making competitiveness get in the way of our fun times together! That is a massive 'my bad' for me!" Her lips quivered and her eyes shined a bit. Her tears seemed genuine. "Can you bring yourself to forgive me, Luigi? I'll do better, for reals. I promise..."

"I...I...I...I know you will..." Luigi muffled slightly while patting her shoulder. "It's alright, really. I'm not mad about it or anything, just worried. It's fine." Choosing between staying within this amazing comfort or simply moving on with their day, Luigi pushes on and chooses the latter, pulling away from Daisy we we she wiped away the tears that almost fell. He was a bit relieved to see her quickly dry them away. They weren't like her, not over something like this. She was much stronger than that, so much stronger.

...That didn't mean he didn't find it cute, however. Just unlike her.

"D-Daisy! For goodness' sake, you're a Princess! A proper lady!" Peach sputtered, pointing at Daisy with a blush of embarrassment. "You cannot simply go smothering Luigi into your bosom so nonchalantly without considering the implications!"

"Hah? Why not?"

"W-Well...because...um..." Peach deflated slightly, pressing her fingers together. "Look, we just can't, alright?! You didn't even give him the courtesy of a fair warning!"

"I refuse to believe that surprise hugs are an inherently bad thing." Daisy shrugged. "Relax, Peach. Say if you were to do the same kind of thing to Mario, I don't think either of us will be put off enough about it to actually complain."

"I...gah...ugh..." Peach pouted, slightly slumped over in surrender. "I suppose you have a point...I apologize for my ignorance. I did not mean to disrupt our fun time with something so miniscule."

"Forget it, it's fine. I know how you tend to get sometimes, so expecting it cushions the blow." Daisy jokingly waves it off. "Now then, we have a lot more agendas to attend to. What's gonna be our next thing, now that beach time's done and things are cooling down a bit?"

"Well, it apprars we've had our fill of the beach for the time being." Toadsworth informed while rubbing his precious mustache. "I'd say that it's a pretty good time for us to receive some high-quality food, for everyone."

"Ya know what, I'll really have to agree with mushroom head here.~" Kammy chuckled as she flew around the group slightly, briefly confusing the toads but making the Lumas laugh and fly about with her. "There ain't nothin' like having a nice big meal with friends and loved ones to really demonstrate how deep a bond is! There ain't many ways to better demomstrate such things than sharing food with someone ya share a connection with! Am I right, kiddies!?"

"Yeah!" The Koopalings all shouted gleefully.

"Weee!~" The Lumas all cheered while swirling around the room with a trail of stars following them the entire time.

"Alright, you're actually speaking sense this time, Kammy!" Bowser grinned, which was quickly wiped away by the menacing, potent glare she sent his way. He held is paws up in surrender. "I swear I was kidding."

"Mmhmmm..."

"Geez, it takes just about anything to set you off if it comes from my big mouth."

"That's only because I care about your growth, my Boarishness.~"

"Hey, who you callin' a boar!" Bowser pointed dramatically. "Don't compare me to Mr. Icy Pig! I'm BBB than him! Bigger, Badder, Better!" Bowser blinked and folded his arms, tapping his foot. "What was his name again...Pigby? No...Boarby? Nah..."

"You mean Blizzard Midbus?" Luigi deadpanned.

"Hmmm...that can't be it."

"You fought him when he was juiced up on ice power!"

"I'm pretty sure I would remember someone like that. And what kind of a stupid name is Blizzard Midbus? Who was he again?"

"He worked with Fawful to basically steal your Kingdom." Mario sighed. "You know? The bean citizen that worked with Cackletta? Who ALSO possessed you? Mr. 'I HAVE CHORTLES!', that guy?"

"..." Bowser hummed for a bit, before a lightbulb went off and fire streamed out of his mouth. "GRAAAAAWWWWGH!"

"WOAH!"

"That's right! That stupid pest, Fawful!" Bowser growled while stomping the ground, smoke emitting from his nostrils and maw. "I _**HATED**_ that little jerk! Kept shoving his conquest of my Kingdom and my prior inability to reconquer it right in my face every chance he got! Every time I saw his stupid grinning face I wanted to punch it and turn him into bean paste!" He blinked. "And just how many times did I get possessed or copied by somebody and you all had to fight me or that copy?!"

"Far too many..." Luigi sighed.

"Oh my. Truly so many possessions and copies of King Bowser." Rosalina hummed.

"...We got used to it." Peach said with a serene smile yet also a dull look in her eyes.

Bowser sighed as he voluntarily calmed himself down, taking deep breaths, before letting them out slowly. _Not gonna lose my top over a memory. I'm just not. I'm gonna take a chill pill, embrace the breeze of an Ice Flower, and just relax...Fawful was still a big beanish jerk though._

"Now then..." Rosalina smiles as she tenderly wraps her arms around Bowser's right arm. The look of surprise on his face was quite obvious, and a quick starlight sparkle across her eyes told him that she found it amusing. "What do you say we head to Delfino Hotel? Getting nust a tiny bit late, after all. What better place to rest after such an intense volleyball match?'

 _I coulda won..._ Daisy muttered under her breath.

"Uh...sure. No problem at all." Bowser mumbled while blushing and anxiously looking upwards.

Rosalina enjoys teasing him _far_ too much...

* * *

"And here you go, good man!" Kammy smiled as she casuslly casually drops a bag of gold on the counter of a nearby Pinata, who simply gasped at the huge amount of gold coins presented. "Thay should just abut cover everyone's expenses for the night and then some!" Kammy even took their potential room service requests that might be made later.

"I'm surprised you're willing to pay so much." Toadsworth raised an eyebrow.

"Bah! Lemme tell ya something important, Mr. Toadstache."

"Now see here-"

"Villainy is all well and good when you're going to be serious and follow through with it. That's fine. But we're kind of on a vacation. We're taking a break from all that noise. Which means it would be much quicker to just pay for what we want and be on our way than make a hassle of trying to aggresively strongarm them into doing what we want. Am I wrong?"

"Well...I would say that's not _entirely_ incorrect..."

"Very good very good!" She snatched him up by the arm, grinning with glee. "Now let's go check out the sights!"

"Wait a moment! I did not agree to-" Toadsworth was already lifted up by Kammy and flown away via broom. "PRINCESS, HELP ME!"

"I'm sure he'll be fine..." Peach said hopefully, though Mario snorted at the concerned look in her eyes despite her words.

"Probably. But just in case, be sure to check on them in two hours...maybe two and a half." Lemmy tilted his head.

"Kammy is a wild one, ya see? Ain't got no idea what goes on in her head." Roy says while lightly lifting his shades. "It's one of the main reasons we're kinds of terrifed of her, yeah? Makes Iggy seem a little bit sane-emphasis on _little bit_ -sometimes. Don't wanna set off a bo-omb that can explode whenever it wants. That won't be good for us in the slightest." He let them drop back down and grinned. "But enough of dat for now! Room service!~"

"I'm gonna order everything!" Junior threw his paws in the air.

"Nu-uh! I'M gonna order everything!" Larry said with his own fists in the air.

"Back of the line, fellow brothers. It's quite obvious that _I_ shall be the one who orders every food item here." Ludwig shuts them both down with a smug wave. "You two probably won't be able to fully comprehend the lists given to you."

"Grah! Buzz off, Ludwig!" Larry huffed.

"Yeah, Ludwig, emphasis on the _wig_ _._ " Roy smirked, lowering his shades a bit. "How long are ya gonna think yours is cool?~"

Ludwig gasped, horribly offended. "How DARE you?! At least I HAVE hair on my head, brute!" He muttered, blushing slightly. "I work really hard to make my hair look presentable, I shall not allow you simple-minded comments to take away from the effort..."

"Effort that belongs to Kammy and Wendy since they are the ones that help condition it and such. Right?" Iggy pointed out, which Wendy confirmed with a confident nod.

"..."

"You can scheme a big scheme but you can't even do your own hair, bro." Roy laughed. "And don't even get us started on what was essentially the WACKIEST hair day of your life."

"We do NOT mention that incident in public..."

"Circus Polka Dot Afro!~" Lemmy giggled.

"WE DO NOT SPEAK OF IT!"

"I dunno, talkin' wbout it actually feels nice.~"

"Alright alright, let's not veer off topic too much." Rosalina said ws a wave of Lumas flew over them and allowed a few raining glittering stars over them, surprisingly decreasing all negativity for the moment, leaving room for positivity to grow. She smiled while clasping her hands. "Now then, it would be quite disadvantegeous for any of you to order _everything_ from room service. After all, it would leave less for you to order tomorrow. Think about restocking, costs, management, the seemingly miniature parts of a body that keeps it functioning." She says while going over to pet each of their heads. "You should follow the example your father presents when ruling his Kingdom."

The Koopalings looked at Rosalina in confusion, and even Bowser raised an eyebrow. Rosalina gently sits before them as Lumas gathered around them.

"Bowser is many things when it comes to his conflicts with other people. But within the Kingdom he rules? He commands genuine respect, loyalty, and love. And do you know why? Because he is kind." She nearly giggled at Daisy's rather audible snort, and was happy to see that she retained the Koopalings attention. "I know it is difficult for others to believe, but he is truly kind, even if he himself does not completely admit it aloud. A King of his stature is beloved by all of his citizens bcause he treats them with kindness, including his minions. Sure, he can be rather quick to punish them for failure, but never focuses on it because he wants them to do better. That, and given the opposition, he's more prone to, how you say, 'cut them a break'."

"That...that is true..." Wendy hums.

"I believe the biggest example of this was the time when he once found defectors of his army, and was simply happy for their new lives rather than forcing them back under his command. Or calming down a painfully shy female Chain Chomp with surprising tenderness. I heard these not from Bowser himself, but from Mario." Rosalina smiled. "It was their adventure with Smithy that he witnessed this, and both he and Peach were reaffirmed that he wasn't as evil as he paints himself to be. And it's acts of genuine benevolence like these that makes Bowser king. While afraid of him due to his temper and low tolerance for failure, their love, respect, and admiration of him surpasses that fear immensely. It makes them happy to serve him."

"O-Oh..." Morton pouted, lightly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Wait, _that's_ where that Chompetta came from?" Iggy asked while turning towards Bowser. "You told us stories about your adventure with Mario against Smithy, and that a Chain Chomp was your first weapon. You do so a lot, but you actually _kept_ Chompetta!"

"You even gave her a cute white bow!" Wendy cooed.

"...The darn chomper grew on me. I couldn't bring myself to just abandon her after fighting by her side in such tough times." Bowser pouted with a light blush.

Rosalina smiled. "And just now, Bowser managed to convince the ever-abrasive Princess Daisy to tone down their hostilities so that the rest of us can simply enjoy our time here." Both gasped as Rosalina mentioned this so casually, turning to Bowser with a smile. "I didn't need telepathy to tell that's what you did. Simply deducting who's more reasonable between the two of you and figuring that's the person who will put their squabbling on hold."

 _I'm less reasonable than BOWSER?_ Daisy thought rather shyly.

"Stupid Space Princess..." Bowser grumbled, blushing brighter.

"Ah, there it is. Retreating back into his shell after mentioning him being so sweet." Rosalina smiled. It was honestly incredibly cute that he reacts in such a way. She couldn't help but push for more reactions like that. It's warmly amusing. "So what I am trying to say, children, is to treat those who serve you with kindness. They should be happy to do so, not because they're afraid of you, but because they love and respect you. You show that you care for them, and vice-versa. You'd be surprised what that does for their effectiveness in their occupations."

After pondering Rosalina's words for a few moments, the Koopalongs settled down and nodded to each other in agreement. Ludwig clapped his paws. "Alright, fellow siblings. We shall all share one room. Be light on what you order for room service, because we won't be able to fall asleep if we overdo it. And be sure to tip."

"Uhhh...what he said! All of what he said!" Junior said quickly, with two Lumas happily sparkling next to him. He then blinked and stomped. "Wait a minute! Something's not right here! We all have to share a separate room?! No fair! I wanna sleep close to Mama Rosalina!"

"That's obviously not going to work. Why should she pick you over all of us?"

"...I never said that." Junior grumbled, briefly surprising the Koopalings. "I said that I wanted to sleep close to Mama Rosalina. I never said that you all couldn't join us..."

"...Oh. My apologies, I assumed too quickly."

"That's what happens when yer heads' too big, Wiggy." Roy smirked and playfully patter his head, not minding it being slapped away moments later.

"Unhand my hair! I don't know where your paws have been!"

"I guess we gotta get our things ready, huh? Gotta take baths and all that. Brush our fangs, set up our beds, read ourselves a story, tell more stories..." Morton rambled for a little.

"I for one, would love sleeping with Rosalina so close by! Gives us a sense of safety, you know?" Wendy smiled as she turned to Bowser with a clap. "Will that be alright with you, Daddy?~"

"...Fine." Bowser grumbled as he folded his arms and sighed. It wasn't like saying no would actually _stop_ the Koopalings. They were clever like that. If it would make them happy...then he would allow it. He didn't miss the knowing smile on Rosalina's face. There was no telepathy involved, she just knew from his eyes. Considering that greatly unfair, he closed them and turned away, his boush getting brighter.

 _Troublesome Space Princess..._

* * *

"Haaaaaaagh! Welp, time to hit the hay!" Daisy squealed as she landed back first on a bed, bouncing several times before stopping and sprawled lazily upon it.

"Daisy! For Star Spirit's sake, close your legs when you're wearing a nightshirt!" Peach admonished her while patting down her own pink nightshirt, her royal garbs neatly put up and placed on a dresser, including her crown. "Honestly, times like these I tend to forget that you're an actual princess. Can't you be a _bit_ more self-conscious?"

"Why?" It's just us and the Bros." Daisy shrugged. "Isn't that right, Luigi?"

"I swear I didn't see anything..." Luigi looked away, still as a statue while blushing brightly.

"And on top of that, yout hair! You haven't even bothered brushing it! Now it's all unkempt and wild!"

"I'll worry about that later. Right now, I just wanna sleep..."

"By the Stars, Daisy..."

"...So...hey." Daisy slowly sits up, sitting on her knees and placing her hands on her lap. "How long will this break last, huh? And I don't mean the vacation, I mean Bowser." The trio was surprised by the lack of malice in her voice this time. Did she calm down? "He's willing to behave now, sure. Though how long will that last exactly, before we get into another fight with him?"

"We'll probably do just that, look back on the battle, laugh a little, then save the next big encounter another day." Mario stretched with his hands behind his neck.

"I would think _you_ of all people would be a bit more worried about this..."

"All I'm saying is that worrying about it nonstop won't do us any good. If it happens, then it happens, and we'll deal with it. Right now, it's NOT happening. And I'm willing to count that as a pretty big positive, if you don't mind."

"I mean...all those bad days we had with Bowser just means we enjoy the good days even more." Luigi twiddled his fingers. "Sure, he might never cross into bonafide good guy territory, but it also means that he's considered the choice, and doesn't want to go too far into the _other_ direction." Luigi nodded. "That's something to be happy about...at least I think so."

"When we're not at odds with him, Bowser is actually very fun to have around." Peach said as she sits upon her own bed while finishing up brushing her hair. "There's a reason why Rosalina is so relaxed around him."

"Rosalina doesn't count for obvious reasons. Of COURSE she's not worried." Daisy sighed. "But regardless, I'm outvoted, so I guess I can ease up on him a little."

"That's all we ask for."

"Yeah yeah. I'm gonna go to sleep now." Daisy yawned, before her arms slid around Luigi, and he gasped as he was suddenly pulled onto the bed, with her tightening her hug around him. "Well, g'night."

"H-Hey hey hey! Daisy, what are you doing?!" Luigi sputtered while blushing brightly, his face pressed into the sleepy Daisy's bosom.

"So sleepy..." Daisy muttered drowsily, pressing him deeper within. It did not help his embarrassment in the slightest.

Mario and Peach both sighed while gently facepalming, before looking at each other and noticing they did so simultaneously; they soon laughed heartily from this, as both of them laid on the bed on their backs, staring at the ceiling, with the latter's hair gently sprawled out. The former noticed this, raising an eyebrow.

"What about alo alo talo about brushing hair?"

"Daisy exhauasted my care for it tonight."

" _Mama Mia..._ "

"Indeed." Peach sighed. "...Mario?"

"Hm?"

"Hypothetically. If Bowser wereto truly stop kidnapping me and stopped harassing the Mushroom Kingdom...do you believe we could still be friends?" She asked sincerely, turning towards him with her blue eyes gently glowing int he dark, which Mario s did the same. "No matter how mu h he has troubled us...Bowser is a major part of our lives. No part of me wishes for that to have never been, nor do I want him to stop seeing us. A peaceful coexistence between the Darklands and Mushroom Kingdom sounds like a faraway dream...yet I still want to make it real. As much as I can."

Mario listened intentively, seeing how sincere Peach was being about this. Taking a moment to process this, he smiled and stared at the ceiling. "I wouldn't worry too much. It's Bowser, after all. Whether we fight or not, he always finds a way to make life interesting. So no, I don't believe that the more malevolent parts of our feud would mean the end for any possible friendship. If anything, he'd just channel all of that pent-up expression in extreme sports or multiverse tournaments. Bowser's a surprisingly good sport when he wants to be."

"...Yes. I suppose he is." Peach smiled warmly, returning her gaze to the ceiling as well. Silently, they both reached for each other's hand, and held them softly. They soon fell into quiet slumber.

"...Mario? Peach? Helllooo?" Luigi muffled as Daisy quietly and cutely snored while keeping his head firmly against her chest. Then he wondered: Was calling for help from a position like this reasonable because he's having a hard time breathing, or insensitive because Daisy's being affectionate?"

 _...I'm confused. So VERY confused..._

* * *

Junior was the only child still hopping on the bed with gleeful joy. Bowser sighed while gently massaging his face, while Rosalina softly giggled at the scene, wearing a glittery, slightly transparent blue nightshirt with shining stars all over. The Lumas were swirling around and raining starry glitter as well, cheering softly.

After enough bounces, Bowser caught Junior mid-jump. "Alright that's enough bed-bouncing for one day. Bedtime."

"Waaaaah, so soon?" Junior pouted with folded arms and puffed cheeks. "I don't wanna go to bed yet..."

"Now now, Junior. Be reasonable." Rosalina smiled softly. "It's important for such an esteemed prince like yourself to have your rest, so you would be plenty prepared for the next day. Have more energy to play, to eat, and to prank your siblings."

"I can prank my brothers and sister?!"

"So long as it doesn't involve actually hurting them." She added softly, with only a hint of firm sternness. It got through, and he lowered his head with a nod.

"Okay, Mama Rosalina..." Junior nodded as Bowser sets him down on the rented bed, proceeding to gently tuck him in. Bowser sighed softly as he turned to Rosalina for a moment, before he stood up and began moving around the room.

As the Koopalings were descending into slumber, Bowser intended to approach each of them. The first he approached was Larry; he leaned down and gently kissed his forehead. Nooding to himself, he proceed to do the same for Morton. Then for Wendy, who smiled rather warmly at the feeling. Bowser smiles back, before he proceeded to do the same for Iggy, Roy, Lemmy, and Ludwig.

Rosalina watched Bowser give goodnight kisses to the Koopalings, and couldn't help but silently smile at how adorable it was. So much, that it spurred her to do the same. She would get up, push her blond hair from her face, then lean down and gently give their heads and occasional cheek a kiss, which resulted in a gentle sparkle that made each of them giggle to themselves.

The last was obviously Junior. He lies back while pulling the covers over himself. Bowser and Rosalina both proceeded to lean forward and kiss his cheeks from each side. Junior smiles widely as he snuggles the covers slightly. Bowser and Rosalina gently caressed his cheeks, and his smiles widened further.

"Papa...Mama..."

The words gently reached out to both of them, smiling quietly as they both pulled back. Bowser gestured for her to follow him outside the room. He gently closed the door behind him as he soon looked Rosalina in the eye.

"You sure talked me up back there." Bowser hummed.

"I simply heard stories from our friends, and came to my own conclusion." Rosalina replied.

"And you truly agree with what you said?"

"If you were truly a dragon turtle with no positive qualities to speak of, and you have plenty, then Mario and Peach wouldn't be so determined to reach out to you when the flames died down. And I'd like to believe those are acts they decide with their hearts."

"Yeah, their annoyingly big hearts..."

"You appreciate them for it though. You learned from them. Your own heart grew along with theirs."

"No it hasn't. I'm still a cold-blooded dragon whose heart doesn't bleed for others."

"Evidence points to the contrary.~"

"I don't have to acknowledge it, though."

"Hmhmhm...you are indeed stubborn, Bowser."

"Course I am. If I _wasn't_ stubborn, I wouldn't have won/survived half of the scraps I'd get into that don't involve Mario. If there's a trait I can freely admit to sharing with him, is that we never give up when the chips are down." Bowser closed his eyes. "I have many ways to insult that stupid plumber, but I've grown to appreciate and respect his sheer guts. It's something we can connect over...I really do like that about him." Bowser smiled.

"I see..."

"...D-Don't tell him I said that!" Bowser sputtered towards her with a blush.

"I would never.~"

Bowser sighed as he folded his arms, tapping his foot softly as he looked around, reprocessing the fact that they were alone. "So...um...wanna just hit the hay?"

"Perhaps. But both of us lack a goodnight kiss of our own." Rosalina smiled at the sudden redness on his cheeks, which grew steadily worse.

"Haaaaaaaaah?!"

"I do not see why not.~"

"Quit messin' around, Space Princess!"

"It's only fair to give one to each other after giving some to the children."

"How does that..." Bowser sighed as he pinched his nose. "...You know what, fine. Let's go along with this just so you don't find a way to embarrass me further with it."

"I assure you, I know not what you mean.~"

"Troublesome Space Princess..."

"Prideful Koopa King." Rosalina leaned forth and kissed his nose, startling him. "There. I spared you the embarrassment of going first.~"

"Why you..." Bowser snarled with a deep blush, which Rosalina continued to smile. "Alright, fine. I can't just leave it at that, I guess..." Bowser leaned forth and lightly kissed her cheek, which recieved a pleased hum from her. "There, you happy?"

"Quite." Rosalina reached for his paw and warmly caresses it. "Come. Time to tuck ourselves in as well."

Bowser grumbled under his breath, but didn't disagree as they both retreated back into the room with the Koopalings, quietly losing the door behind them.

The night passed by peacefully, to everyone's surprise...and relief.

* * *

 **Overall a nice little vacation. But what awaits our groups next? Perhaps some more silly shenanigans?**

 **...Wonder if I can make a chapter or two regarding Bowsette...**

 **Bowser: _DON'T YOU DARE!_**

 **It would definitely be...an interesting experience, if only for humor's sake. I probably shouldn't, though.**

 **Still, a very surprising turn of events I'm glad to have discovered, if only to laugh myself silly snd to be intrigued by how immense it was. I don't think even Nintendo saw that coming, though I believe early artwork of Super Mario Odyssey suggested that it was somewhat considered. Welp, it's out in the open either way.~**

 **Bowser: *Whimper* My cred's never gonna be the same again...**

 **Plus let's not forget that Smash Bros Ultimate is finally here, looks amazing, and is definitely gonna be worth buying...so you can understand why I am very much cursing my current inability to own a Switch. ;-;**


	27. Starry Fireworks

**I have not touched this story in so long. And given that it's one of my personal favorites, that is a crime. One I seek to somewhat redeem myself with, through this chapter.**

 **Hopefully you'll enjoy.**

* * *

The Koopalings were not ignorant to what has slowly been happening. Oh no. It took longer for some of them to get it than others, but ALL of them had pretty clear understandings of what had been going on for a while now.

Bowser and Rosalina have been growing close. Quite close. Even more importantly, the closer they've gotten, the less that Bowser has Peach on his mind. None of them missed this significant detail, least of all Wendy, Junior, and Ludwig. It was a significant enough detail that they were fully intent on meeting up and talking about it in deeper detail.

And they found a good opportunity to do so, while walking a few Chain Chomps.

"I'm telling you, I'm not the only one who sees it!" Wendy exclaimed dramatically, gesturing her paws upwards.

"You certainly aren't, Wendy." Ludwig noted while stroking his chin. The mini-chain chomp in front of him jumped and barked occasionally as he casually held onto his chain. "It is quite clear thar Father and Miss Rosalina have formed a rather intimate bond with each other. And it can become something more if they truly tried. Lady Rosalina at least seems willing to do so, if given the chance But Father is not very sure that it can go any further than a possibly close friendship."

"So a possible objective to originate from this is to ease Father further into the possible idea. It could do them both wonders, and do wonders for us as well." Ludwig hummed. "With one of those major benefits being that Father can refrain from attacking Mushroom Kingdom as constantly. Perhaps his antagonism with Mario can be reduced to a mere harmless... _mostly_ harmless rivalry between them."

"Huh. Fair enough. Though Daddy and 'harmless' aren't too words that go together very often. But it happens every once in a while, I guess." Wendy cooed while petting her own Chain Chomp. "Though there is one question that really needs answering. How are we gonna get Daddy to take that extra step?"

"It won't be too hard to plan for something that can work. But at the same time, we should be considerate of Rosalina's feelings on this as well. We know she isn't against the idea, but she seems to be waiting for Bowser to take more steps further. She wants to step with him. Not before or after."

"So we risk things slowin' down because Pops might be gettin' shy?" Roy scoffed while adjusting his pink shades and walking his much bigger Chain Chomp which was surprisingly the cheeriest. "Shy doesn't seem like Pops. Awkward and Hammy, but not shy. Then again, dere's a firsr time for everythin'."

"Maybe Dad needs a bit kore encouragement. Though what kind of encouragement would that be?" Iggy thought while rubbing his chin, this own Chain Chomp being one of the jumpier ones.

"I mean, we know that he sees her as beautiful, so I doubt that her appearance is an issue. And it really, truly isn't. I mean, have you _seen_ her? She looks fantastic!" Wendy exclaimed.

"That's out the window for sure. Miss Rosalina is super pretty, and we know Dad thinks so."

"Okay, so physical attraction is checked off. How about emotional?"

"They seem to get along super well." Larry points out fondly, walking a medium sized Chain Chomp. "I mean, they both enjoy sports more than we thought they did, and she's really good at it!"

"Technically both of them are royalty. Maybe there's something there as well." Ludwig tilted his head. "Though I'd say that Miss Rosalina has a much wider range, given that she's basically the protector og the galaxy. Several of them, even."

"Many of which Bowser and Junior endangered with their antics, accoeding to their stories. So that's both an avenue for them to connect through...and the most awkward connection we could ever make between them. But it's there and viable." Iggy hummed.

"They also have children to think about on a daily basis. Us for Daddy, and just about every Luma for Miss Rosalina. That's definitely something they have in common. They're already parents." Wendy said. "And if there's ever something more rough and tough than trying to take over a Kingdom or being a Guardian of the Galaxy, it's being a parent. Let's face it, sometimes we're a bit... _much_ for Daddy to handle."

"And we could imagine that Miss Rosalina has her hands even more filled, given all of those Lumas." Morton pointed out.

"And the main difference is that she probably has an easier time despite all the Lumas because they're simply always behaving well. As for us...well...we're _us_. Misbehaving might as well be a special skill of ours, begging to be used constantly. And we happily indulge ourselves, whether Daddy supports it or not."

"Yeah. I wouldn't wanna be raisin' us alone." Roy nodded, as did the others. Conqueror, King, Beast,...none of those titles were very difficult to hold for Bowser. He wore them like his scales. But Parent/Father. That was more difficult to manage than any enemy he'd ever faced, Mario included. Which was saying a LOT, as they have been fighting since they were babies.

Some people underestimated just how literal that was. They would think they were exaggerating for drama's sake. Kamek can readily confirm the story to be true, much to his mental exhaustion at times.

It was quite clear that Mario and Bowser were destined to butt heads. Be it as genuine enemies, fierce rivals, friendly rivals, it mattered not. They were always going to find some reason to fight, either playfully or seriously, no matter how much Mario might try to prevent it.

"And considering that there's far more Lumas than there are of us, I'm kinda surprised that Rosalina's not a tiny bit more stressed." Wendy rubbed her chin. "Then again, Lumas are far less troublesome than we are, despite outnumbering us so immensely."

"Quality over quantity, sis!" Iggy pointed out. "Dad's got much on his plate regarding us because we made mischief into an art!~"

"Which is pretty funny, since Junior is REALLY skilled at grafititi art." Larry raised a hand. "Maybe he can't take that up as a hobby alongside being a prince!"

"...Speaking of which..." Ludwig hummed as he turned to the Koopa Prince himself, whom was walking his own Chain Chomp. He seemed to have a contemplative look in his eyes. He was in deep thinking, and Ludwig could take a guess and say that it had something to do with the subject at paw. "You've been surprisingly quiet, little brother. Are you well?"

"O-Oh! Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong." Junior said hurriedly with a waving paw.

"Haha...try again." Wendy gently reprimanded.

Junior sighed as he lightly scratched his head, his Chain Chomp barking at a few butterflies. "Well...this has been on my mind for a while now. And...I don't really know what to do with it. It might be a bad idea...but I really wanna try it..."

"Well we ain't gonna know if its a good idea or a bad idea if ya don't spill." Roy said with folded arms.

Junior sighed as he pulled something out of his shell, handing it to the gang of Koopalings. Ludwig grabbed hold of it first. Everyone took a look at the poster with various curious faces. After a moment of consideration, they nodded.

"Well what do you know. This is actually a good idea, Junior." Ludwig smiled.

"Yeah, not bad at all." Wendy smirked.

"Eh. I can see it workin'." Roy cracked his neck with a grin.

"I guess it can work." Mortan scratched his head.

"Hoo hoo! Dad's really gonna be miffed that we'll be arranging this behind his back.~" Iggy snickered.

"This is gonna be awesome!" Larry grinned.

...Lemmy had said nothing for a while, either. Junior blinked.

"...Lemmy?" Ludwig blinked as everyone turned towards Lemmy's direction.

"Down girl! Bad girl! This is NOT how we do walkies!" Lemmy shrieked in panic as the largest Chain Chomp of the group chased him down with a cheerful bounce and happy eyes, not realizing the damage she could do. She had a cute pink bow on top of her head, and long eyelashes.

The Koopalings gasped.

"CHOMPETTE NO!"

* * *

Bowser seriously needed to rein his children in better. Because otherwise, things like _this_ were bound to keep happening without his input. And he would VERY much like some input on things like this.

Like, seriously. If he did, he'd be better able to predict them coming up with ideas like this. Then they would be...just as unpredictable as before, really.

He couldn't win when it came to those kids, could he?

"It was nice of you to invite me for a fireworks display, Bowser." Rosalina says kindly as she and several Lumas were outside with Bowser and the Koopalings. Several Koopas, Paratroopas, and Goombas were helping setting up fireworks all over the field.

"Yeah, real nice thing for me to do." _I'd rather have known about it beforehand, though._

Sure, Rosalina could have used her telepathic powers to read his mind, but she made a point to respect his mental privacy more. That, and she didn't really need it to tell shat he was thinking, given his exasperated expression, which made her giggle quite a bit.

"Welp. Apparently I'm hosting this mini fireworks deal." Bowser scoffed as he folded his arms. "If I'm gonna host this deal, then I'm gonna be the one who lights them up. These fireworks are top-notch! Which means we're gonna get top-quality displays right from the get-go!"

"Yes. Because if there's anything we can expect from you, great King Bowser, is top quality fireworks." Rosalina hummed in amusement, yet not unkindly.

"Fire ANYTHING is gonna be top quality if it comes from me!" Bowser grinned while pressing a thumb to his chest. "I don't care what Mario says, I'M the Fire Master between us! I'm the one who literally breathes it as second nature! Which means I mastered it first! I beat him there, no doubt about it!'

"Indeed." Rosalina smiled knowingly.

"It's true!"

"I'm sure it is.~"

"I mean it!"

"I know you do.~"

Bowser was now sure that this was some kind of ritual between them. And the more they happened, the less genuinely annoyed he was by them. In fact, a part of him might even be having fun with it like she clearly was. It was strange, because she was being completely sincere with her responses, yet still made it feel like warm banter between them.

"Fireworks are ready, Papa!" Junior shouted over to the duo with raised paws. The other Koopalings sounded it off just as well, with the fireworks properly placed. Bowser nodded in approval. Though he felt a tiny bit unsure about how cheeky Wendy looked when she was the last one to confirm it.

He felt like he should worry about what they all had in store. But Rosalina came here for fireworks, so fireworks she shall have!

"Alrighty then, kiddy Koopalings! We're gonna light these things up, and it's gonna be super cool! Worthy King-Sized Fireworks that can match the size of the Koopa Klan's greatness!"

"Oh, it's going to be a showing of something, alright.~" Kammy says quietly with a quiet witch-like cackle...which was briefly interrupted with several much louder coughs into her fists.

"We're ready and rarin' to go, Papa!" Junior raised his paws again, his open jaws emitting the light beginning to burn from his throat.

"Preparing to fire up the fireworks on three." Bowser says as a similar glow emitted from his own throat as his maw opened. "...Three!" Bowser, Junior, and the Koopalings lit the fireworks up, and they took a few seconds to sizzle, before they pushed off the ground in a spectacular launch.

"It launched!" Kammy cheered with raised paws.

"I have a feeling that this going to end...unexpectedly." Polari said quietly while looking up towards the fireworks. "...Though then again, fireworks _are_ lovely."

 _The Koopalings are definitely up to something, and Kammy approved of it, whatever it is. What's up with those fireworks...?_ Kamek couldn't help but worry.

Once the fireworks reached a high enough altitude, they exploded in a vast arraw of colors and shine. To add onto this, various colorful designs would result from the explosions. The first was an array of designs based around Koopa Shells, mostly the ones being green and red, with even a dash of blue. There was also the signature symbols of each of the Koopalings, Junior included.

"Ah...how pretty.~" Rosalina says with slightly clasped hands.

"Pretty! Pretty!" The Lumas repeat/chanted while circling around Rosalina.

"GWAHAHAHA! They're pretty awesome, huh?~" _Though I seriously wish I would have planned this out myself._ Bowser mentally grumbled.

The next set of fireworks were slightly more interesting than the last, which had the various Lumas that many have experienced over the years. Such as Polari, Lumalee, Lubba, and Comet Tico.

"To think that such a level of detail could grace grace fireworks..." Polari said in amazement.

 _Nearly there..._ Kammy thought with a sneaky smile.

The Koopalings seems to be waiting in anticipation as well. It only made Kamek more nervous, while Bowser himself doesn't seem to notice the current danger.

The final row of fireworks set off and soared towards the night sky. And then, only then, did Bowser acknowledge the growing feeling that something was wrong. A very concise gut feeling, and it wasn't about food this time.

The row of fireworks detonated, and the images that showed...

"...HAAAAAAH?!" Bowser gaped in shock.

"Oh my." Rosalina placed her hands over her mouth, slightly surprised herself.

"Stars above..." Polari gaped.

"What in the...?!" Kamek gaped, his eyes bulging through his glasses.

 _Ehehehehehehe~_ Kammy mentally cackled.

This was a fireworks display that caught the Koopa King and Space Princess vastly off-guard. Because it was a display of both of their faces close together and fitting inside a pink heart, with various Lumas and the Koopalings sparkling around them.

"A...A...A-Bah...Gah...?!" Bowser stammered, which was somewhat rare for him, as a bewildered blush spread across his face.

"I do not think your children are being subtle anymore." Rosalina eventually relaxed and smiled, even though she was blushing as well.

 _Those little brats upended me again!_ Bowser mentally grumbled while clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.

"...Then again, they've taken a lot from you in that department." Rosalina says quietly while turning towards Bowser himself. "Something tells me that you're more bothered by the _timing_ of this gesture, rather than the gesture itself. Am I wrong?"

"...This stuff takes careful planning and dedication, you know." Bowser grumbled with folded arms. "This is why I have to be present when those brats concoct their little schemes. There's an outline to be followed so that things don't go off the rails. And thanks to this little stunt, _MY_ outline just got burned. I swear I'm tempted to take away their Clown Car privileges for two weeks..."

"Bowser." Rosalina placed her hands on her hips, pouting slightly.

Decided to hold back from admitting how cute her pout was, Bowser sighed and scratched his head. "I'll admit, the thought has crossed my mind the more I got to know you. I was still working over my feelings for Peach, and admittedly I still am, to a degree. Probably will be doing so for a very long time."

"Understandable. You've known her much longer than you've known me, so those feelings are unlikely to go away easily, and perhaps will never cease completely. There will always be a small ember that's never truly sparked enough to truly catch fire..."

"...I have never heard it worded like that before. I'm truly impressed." Bowser blinked. Then he shook his head and slapped his cheeks. "Bah! Enough of this dancing around! King Bowser Koopa does not stall and does not hesitate! He charges straight in!"

"Meaning...?"

Bowser pushed his paw through his hair, took a deep breath, and decided to rip the bandage off on the issue. "Yeah, my heart began following you over Peach. I never thought it possible since I've been following her for years, and yet suddenly my heart yearns for you? You could see why I was somewhat hesitant on getting things across. I wanted to at least do so properly. Ya know, like I said, following an outline. But my kids kinda botched that plan, so I might as well roll with what we've got right now."

"Hmm..."

"Yep. Then I remembered and realized...planning for matters of the heart is...well... _really_ hard. I couldn't have planned for this development even if I tried. And I DID consider it."

"Indeed." Rosalina nodded. "So what remains is a curious question. How brightly will the stars in our hearts shine for one another?"

"Basically, are we gonna pursue this path before us or not." Bowser said bluntly.

"Yes. Basically." Rosalina smiled.

Bowser turned towards the Koopalings, and then towards the Lumas, both looking very expectant of something. His thoughts very briefly went to Peach. He then shook his head. _Stars above, putting this kind of stuff into words is too tough for me sometimes. Which leaves my more favorable option...action._

Bowser moved closer to Rosalina, lightly sliding his arms around her shoulders. She responded by lightly feeling his much larger arms with her hands, allowing herself to be pulled closer. He searched for permission in her eyes, she calmly provided it. With a sigh, Bowser burned away the hesitation in his heart, and graced Rosalina's lips with a kiss. One which she gracefully, sweetly returned as their eyes slid shut.

"Haha! At last!" Kammy cheered as she waved her wand, igniting yet another wave of fireworks to launch into the sky. They ignited and displayed another wave of patterns, which was multiple sparkling hearts and stars and Koopa shells.

"Victory is ours!" Wendy cheered as well, as she and the Koopalings gleefully danced in the midst of the fireworks, faking it as a cheeky yet hapoy celebration.

"Papa and Mama Rosalina are together now!" Junior hopped about with the biggest baby smile of all, breathing little sparks of flame all the while.

"Y-Your Brashness has claimed the Space Princess' kiss!" Kamek sputtered with his hands on his cheeks.

"R-R-Rosalina, dear! This is far too sudden! At least take another moment to process it all!" Polari said with utter confuzzlement.

The duo eventually separated, as they both blushed slightly. Though Rosalina was obviously still much calmer than he was.

"Geez, they're sure making a lot of noise over this." Bowser grumbled in embarrassment.

"I await _Daisy's_ reaction to this latest development. I'm sure she'll be thrilled." Rosalina smiles knowingly.

"Oh man, that's gonna be fun." Bowser grumbled while turning away. Rosalina gently pulled his head back to meet her eyes.

"It will be alright. Our friends can be quite understanding when they truly try to be."

"'Friends' is a bit strong. Also...Daisy? Being understanding with me? Seriously?"

"Maybe you two weren't trying hard enough. You made progress already, after all.~"

"For a wise and benevolent Space Princess, you sure are cheeky."

"At this point I do believe you see that as a charm of mine. As I you, for your reactions to it."

"Hmph..."

Neither Bowser or Rosalina minded the chatter they were making-though the former made it clear that he was going to have a talk with his children about the scheme-and simply focused on one another. Awkward as it may be at first, given Bowser's lips being much different than her own, Rosalina did not mind at all. For two things began shining a lot brighter during this night.

The stars above that she governed and protected.

And the warm, cozy fire burning in Bowser's heart.

* * *

 **There we are! Stars and Fire shining brighter together! It's been so long since I've touched this story, I might as well make the wait somewhat worth it.**

 **It probably wasn't, but gosh, it felt great to finally reach this point. Thank the Koopalings for pushing forward the initiative.**

 **Cheeky Koopaling Kids...then again, Kammy was also a major player.**

 **Cheeky Koopa Witch...**


End file.
